- veneer (n.)
- 1702, from German Furnier, from furnieren "to cover with a veneer, inlay," from French fournir "to furnish, accomplish," from Middle French fornir "to furnish," from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German frumjan "to provide;" see furnish). A word batted back and forth from German to French to German. Figurative sense of "mere outward show of some good quality" is attested from 1868. The verb is recorded from 1728.