lacquer

American  

[lak-er] / ˈlæk ər /

Or lacker

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. (tr) to apply lacquer to

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of lacquer

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

Example Sentences

For the dining room walls, eight Parisian artisans were flown in for months to achieve a Japanese-inspired lacquer finish.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ms. Kondo illustrates mottainai through art forms that evolved from the spirit of preservation—including kintsugi, or the painstaking process of repairing broken pottery with a combination of lacquer and gold.

From The Wall Street Journal

She’s offset the building’s cement with a childhood baby grand piano and her grandmother’s lacquer vanity with pearl inlay.

From Los Angeles Times

We love this lacquered green dial with diamond hour-markers and a Moonshine gold band, but there are many unique pairings to choose from.

From Los Angeles Times

The listing adds, “The custom lacquered kitchen, finished in rich Aegean blue with bronze accents and Calacatta marble, is as functional as it is striking.”

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• glaze
• varnish