lacquer

Or lack·er

[lak-er]

noun

1. a protective coating consisting of a resin, cellulose ester, or both, dissolved in a volatile solvent, sometimes with pigment added.

2. any of various resinous varnishes, especially a resinous varnish obtained from a Japanese tree, Rhus verniciflua, used to produce a highly polished, lustrous surface on wood or the like.

3. Also called lacquerware. Also called lacquer ware,. ware, especially of wood, coated with such a varnish, and often inlaid.

   They collected fine Japanese lacquers.

4. Slang.,  any volatile solvent that produces euphoria when inhaled.

verb (used with object)

1. to coat with lacquer.

2. to cover, as with facile or fluent words or explanations cleverly worded, etc.; obscure the faults of; gloss (often followed byover ).

   The speech tended to lacquer over the terrible conditions.

lacquer

/ ˈlækə /

noun

1. a hard glossy coating made by dissolving cellulose derivatives or natural resins in a volatile solvent

2. a black resinous substance, obtained from certain trees, used to give a hard glossy finish to wooden furniture

3. Also called: varnish tree. an E Asian anacardiaceous tree, Rhus verniciflua, whose stem yields a toxic exudation from which black lacquer is obtained

4. Also called: hair lacquer. a mixture of shellac and alcohol for spraying onto the hair to hold a style in place

5. art decorative objects coated with such lacquer, often inlaid

verb

1. (tr) to apply lacquer to

Other Word Forms

• lacquerer noun
• relacquer verb (used with object)
• unlacquered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of lacquer¹

1570–80; earlier leckar, laker < Portuguese lacre, lacar, unexplained variant of laca < Arabic lakk < Persian lâk lac ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lacquer¹

C16: from obsolete French lacre sealing wax, from Portuguese laca _lac ¹

Example Sentences

This is drilled into African American girls from early childhood, when Disney first sinks its lacquered claws into America’s daughters.

From Salon

For the moment, if it’s a Monday at 5:30 p.m., you can find Singletary at his black lacquered piano ready to welcome anyone who needs it into the “Piano & Prayer” family.

From Los Angeles Times

But look a little closer and you’ll notice a layer of thick, shiny lacquer, still wet after these films have been haphazardly jammed through the marketing machine.

From Salon

And then there are the newer versions — birds brined in buttermilk or their skins lacquered to glossy, bronzed perfection.

From Salon

Around since the 1850s, tintype photography captures a still image on a thin metal plate coated with dark lacquer or enamel.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• glaze 
• varnish