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 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 by over ):

   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. lacquer tree
   Also calledvarnish tree an E Asian anacardiaceous tree, Rhus verniciflua, whose stem yields a toxic exudation from which black lacquer is obtained
4. Also calledhair 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

Derived Forms

• ˈlacquerer, noun

Other Words From

• lac·quer·er noun
• re·lac·quer verb (used with object)
• un·lac·quered 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

A study in juxtaposition, the soft vulnerability of a melty dumpling is hardened in black lacquer, fixed in time and space.

From Los Angeles Times

Kelce has gone the extra mile, buying a onetime muffler shop to expand Operation Breakthrough’s campus and create the Ignition Lab, in which students convert dilapidated jalopies into lacquered, showroom-ready electric vehicles.

From Los Angeles Times

Ten feet tall and made of black lacquered wood decorated with gold, the shrine was carried in the Nisei Week Festival parade in Little Tokyo in August 1960, The Times reported.

From Los Angeles Times

“Ride the Champion 1 ¢” reads the turquoise sign under the peeling chestnut lacquer of the hooves.

From Salon

Getting Trump ready for court likely means a lengthy session to lacquer on his makeup and coax what remains of his hair into that fluffy combover.

From Salon

Related Words

• glaze
• varnish