Dear Faldage: TOWFI also nixes without wax. But the 'sinceros" or something like that they
postulate, surely was "sine" combined very early with a root that might have meant "crap"
or something, not necessarily wax. I just don't think it is possible to trace the etymology
back far enough. And the idea of concealing defects in a piece of marble makes a lot of
sense, even though it may not have been origin. Folk etymology seldom makes that much sense.