An archaic or dialectal term meaning to make fine, refine, or improve the quality of something.
From 'fine' (adjective, meaning excellent or thin) plus the suffix '-ew' (an archaic verb-forming suffix, related to Old English '-ian'). This word appears sporadically in Middle English texts describing refinement processes.
This verb is essentially a 'living fossil' in English—it shows how our ancestors could turn almost any adjective into a verb by simply adding '-ew' or '-en' (like 'sharpen' or 'sadden'). Modern English has mostly replaced these forms with '-en' endings, which is why we say 'refine' rather than 'finew'.
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