means A liquid coating that dries into a hard, clear, glossy film, used to protect and beautify wood and other surfaces.

from From Old French 'vernis', from Medieval Latin 'vernix', meaning a fragrant resin or 'odorous gum'. The deeper root is debated: one tempting story traces it to Berenice (Greek 'Berenike'), a city in Cyrenaica thought to trade in the resin, the name later softening through the Greek 'Bereniке' into 'vernix'. By the 18th century the word had stretched figuratively to mean any glossy outer show that hides what lies beneath.