lacquer English · revision 1671

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈlæk.ə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈlæk.ɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|fr|lacre|t=a kind of sealing wax]], now obsolete,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) [[der|pt|lacre|t=sealing wax]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) an unexplained variant of ''laca'' “lac”,^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|ar|لك|tr=lakk]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) [[der|fa|لاک|tr=lāk]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) which Barnhart traces to [[sa|लाक्षा|tr=lākṣā]].^(Barnhart 1995) Barnhart says the spelling ''lacquer'' was influenced by French ''laque''.^(Barnhart 1995) It is related to [[lac]] and [[shellac]].^(Barnhart 1995)^(AHD)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A dye obtained from lac, a sense now obsolete (1579, or the 1570s in Etymonline).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 1670s the word (spelled ''lacker'') meant a gold-coloured varnish of shellac dissolved in alcohol.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) It was then applied to the hard, polishable resin varnishes of Japan, China and other Asian countries (1697)^(OED 1989) and to the decorated wooden ware coated with them (1895).^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) In modern use it means chiefly synthetic coatings, such as nitrocellulose dissolved in solvents (1861),^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and also hair spray (1941).^(OED 1989) The verb, to coat with lacquer, dates from 1688.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1579 – a dye from lac, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1592 – Merriam-Webster's date.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1673 – ''lacker'', a shellac varnish.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1688 – verb.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1697 – an Asian resin varnish.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1861 – a synthetic coating.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1941 – a hair spray.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A clear or colored synthetic coating, made from [[nitrocellulose]] or other resins dissolved in a volatile [[solvent]], that dries to a glossy film.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A natural glossy resin, such as that of the lacquer tree, used as a surface coating; a [[varnish]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Decorative objects of wood coated with lacquer.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To coat with lacquer.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To give a smooth, glossy finish to.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[lacquerer]]

+ * [[lacquerware]]

+ * [[lacquerwork]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lac]]

+ * [[shellac]]

+ * [[lake]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}