the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > cleaning shoes > [noun] > preparation for (5)
spec. A preparation for giving a shining black surface to boots and shoes; a shoe polish.
a moulded ball of a preparation used for blacking; cf. blackball, n. 2.
(a) the polishing of boots and shoes; also attributive; (b) blacking for polishing boots and shoes.
New Zealand. A type of shoe or boot polish, originally black. Hence (more widely): any boot polish (New Zealand and Australian slang).