lac Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects; used in e.g. varnishes and sealing wax

Hind. lak, lakh, laksh, Skr. laksha a mark, sign, lakh.

One hundred thousand; also, a vaguely great number; as, a lac of rupees. Written also lack. East Indies

Per. lak; akin to Skr. laksha: cf. F. lague, It. & NL. lacca. Cf. Lake a color, Lacquer, Litmus.

A resinous substance produced mainly on the banyan tree, but to some extent on other trees, by the Coccus lacca now Laccifer lacca , a scale-shaped insect, the female of which fixes herself on the bark, and exudes from the margin of her body this resinous substance. ✍ Stick-lac is the substance in its natural state, incrusting small twigs. When broken off, and the coloring matter partly removed, the granular residuum is called seed-lac. When melted, and reduced to a thin crust, it is called shell-lac or shellac. Lac is an important ingredient in sealing wax, dyes, varnishes, and lacquers.