Furnish

How to spell furnish

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce furnish

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does furnish mean?

1. verbTo provide a room or building with furniture and fittings.
2. verbTo supply or provide something, such as information, evidence, or materials.

Furnish in a sentence

• They spent the weekend trying to furnish the new flat on a tight budget.

• The accountant was asked to furnish proof of every expense claimed.

• The landlord agreed to furnish the apartment before the tenants moved in.

• Please furnish the committee with a copy of the signed contract.

Where does furnish come from?

Language of origin: French

This word arrived in English in the late 1400s from the Old French verb furnir or fournir, which meant 'to accomplish, complete, or provide'. English borrowed it through the lengthened present-stem form furniss-, which is exactly why the modern verb ends in -ish, just as 'finish' and 'punish' picked up the same ending from French verbs of this type. The French word itself goes back to a Germanic root, related to a Frankish form frumjan meaning 'to carry out or supply', so the underlying idea was always one of providing or making something ready. The earliest English sense was the general one of 'to supply or provide', and the now familiar meaning of fitting out a room with furniture grew naturally from it. The noun 'furniture' shares the very same French source, which is a useful reminder that to furnish a home is literally to provide its furniture.

How the word is built

• furnish- (from Old French furniss-, stem of furnir 'to provide, accomplish')
• -ish (verb-forming suffix)