Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various clear or colored synthetic coatings made by dissolving nitrocellulose or other cellulose derivatives together with plasticizers and pigments in a mixture of volatile solvents and used to impart a high gloss to surfaces.
  • noun A glossy, resinous material, such as the processed sap of the lacquer tree, used as a surface coating.
  • noun A finish that is baked onto the inside of food and beverage cans.
  • transitive verb To coat with lacquer.
  • transitive verb To give a sleek, glossy finish to.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun crude lacquer, the sap of the Rhus vernicifera of Japan.
  • noun lacquer colored with lampblack, used for drawing fine lines in the shading of feathers, hair, etc., on gold lacquer.
  • noun a variety of Japanese lacquer with small gold fiakes in irregular clusters. See nashiji lacquer.
  • noun a pure lacquer freed from water, exposed to the light, and stirred till it becomes black: used as a basis, or undercoating, on which the finishing lacquer is afterward placed.
  • noun a variety of Japanese lacquer sprinkled with gold, in imitation of the skin of a pear. Also called a venturin lacquer.
  • noun a pure lacquer to which has been added water which had been used with a whetstone and contains fine particles of the stone in suspension: used on cheap ware.
  • noun a variety of Japanese lacquer of a pure black or greenish-black color.
  • noun a dark-green varnish made by adding to branchlacquer a small proportion of tooth-dye, which is prepared by boiling rice-vinegar in which iron filings have been placed, and by afterward exposing it to the rays of the sun for several days.
  • noun a variety of Japanese lacquer produced by mixing oil with the sap of the lacqner-tree (Rhus vernicifera). It is of a yellowish color and needs no polishing. When applied to furniture, being transparent, it shows the natural grain of the wood beneath.
  • noun a Japanese lacquer of a pure red color: same as coral or vermilion lacquer (which see, under coral).
  • noun a red lacquer which requires no final polishing. See shunuri lacquer.
  • noun a red cinnabar lacquer with carved decoration, made in China.
  • noun a variety of Japanese lacquer with marbled or veined effects in various colors.
  • noun varnish obtained from the branches of the lacquer-tree; branch-lacquer. See seshime lacquer, under lacquer.
  • noun Lac as used in dyeing.
  • noun An opaque varnish containing lac, properly so called.
  • noun Decorative work colored and then varnished so as to produce a hard, polished appearance like that of enamel.
  • noun A resinous varnish obtained from the Rhus vernicifera by making incisions in the bark.
  • noun Lacquer-ware; articles of wood which have been ornamented by coating with lacquer.
  • To varnish; treat or decorate with lacquer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A varnish, consisting of a solution of shellac in alcohol, often colored with gamboge, saffron, or the like; -- used for varnishing metals, papier-maché, and wood. The name is also given to varnishes made of other ingredients, esp. the tough, solid varnish of the Japanese, with which ornamental objects are made.
  • transitive verb To cover with lacquer.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating; either a natural exudation of certain trees, or a solution of nitrocellulose in alcohol, etc.
  • noun A similar finish, baked onto the inside of cans.
  • verb To apply a lacquer to something or to give something a smooth, glossy finish.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a hard glossy coating
  • verb coat with lacquer
  • noun a black resinous substance obtained from certain trees and used as a natural varnish

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Obsolete French lacre, sealing wax, from Portuguese, from lacca, resin of the lac insect, from Arabic lakk; see lac.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French lacre ("a sort of sealing wax"), from Portuguese laca, lacca ("gum lac"); see lac.

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Examples

  • There was a satinwood writing table under the window and a work-table in Japanese lacquer, very small and dainty.

    Politics 101 2010

  • You'll want to roll him in lacquer and post him on your mantel.

    REAGAN THE CLASS-BAITER Maggie Jochild 2007

  • What distinguishes Uruapan lacquer from the rest of the lot is a technique called embutido, a fine carving of lacquer, hand-rubbed, incised, inlaid, and rubbed with an additional color in successive steps, taking at least a month to complete.

    Uruapan - The Real Mexico 2007

  • What distinguishes Uruapan lacquer from the rest of the lot is a technique called embutido, a fine carving of lacquer, hand-rubbed, incised, inlaid, and rubbed with an additional color in successive steps, taking at least a month to complete.

    Uruapan - The Real Mexico 2007

  • The new Classic features the AccuTrigger, a hinged floor plate with a straight-line feed, a high-luster blued-barreled action (no sights, drilled and tapped for scopes), a satin lacquer American walnut stock and a Monte Carlo comb and cheekpiece.

    Rifle Roundup: 27 New Guns for 2006 2006

  • Both the Mazarin Chest and the Van Diemen Box mark the beginning of the trade in Japanese lacquer of the "Fine Period" that had a great influence on the decorative arts in Europe for more than 200 years.

    Art Knowledge News 2009

  • … a huge maroon armoire, in Chinese lacquer; its double doors are slightly ajar … The jaunty background

    Sadly, No! 2008

  • The art of japanning was revived in England late in the eighteenth century, and some remarkable pieces appear to have been the work of amateurs who painted and gilded so-called lacquer work, tea caddies, and jewelled caskets.

    Chats on Household Curios 1900

  • It is the gum of that tree commonly called the lacquer-tree, which when taken fresh and applied to the object it is intended to lacquer turns jet-black on exposure to the sun, drying with great hardness.

    Chats on Household Curios 1900

  • In that case, give the shoes a thin coating of jewelers 'grade protective lacquer, which is invisible when dry-In either the polished or unpolished state the shoes can be given a "statuary bronze" coloration chemically.

    Modern Mechanix 2009

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