Verb:Burnished

” to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing”

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/burnish

I encountered this word in You in America

“You thought of your sister back home,about her skin color of honey,and you wished you came out like her.You wished that again the night you first met his parents.But you did not tell him because he would solemn and hold your hand and tell you it was your burnished skin color that first attracted him.”

Given the context And the word burn I actually thought that this meant he liked her because she was really dark.However now that I know what this word really means it means a lot more than just dark,it means that her skin was smooth and velvet looking as well as dark.