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Definition of veneer


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ve·neer  audio  (v-nîr) KEY  

NOUN:
  1. A thin surface layer, as of finely grained wood, glued to a base of inferior material.
  2. Any of the thin layers glued together to make plywood.
  3. A decorative facing, as of brick.
  4. A deceptive, superficial show; a façade: a veneer of friendliness.
TRANSITIVE VERB:
ve·neered , ve·neer·ing , ve·neers
  1. To overlay (a surface) with a thin layer of a fine or decorative material.
  2. To glue together (layers of wood) to make plywood.
  3. To conceal, as something common or crude, with a deceptively attractive outward show.

ETYMOLOGY:
Alteration of obsolete faneering, from German Furnierung, from furnieren, to furnish, veneer, from French fournir, to furnish, from Old French furnir, of Germanic origin; see per 1 in Indo-European roots

OTHER FORMS:
ve·neerer (Noun)


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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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