shellac Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun lac purified by heating and filtering; usually in thin orange or yellow flakes but sometimes bleached white
  2. noun a thin varnish made by dissolving lac in ethanol; used to finish wood
    shellac varnish.
  3. verb cover with shellac
    shellack.
    • She wanted to shellac the desk to protect it from water spots

WordNet

Shell"-lac`, Shel"lac` noun (Also<
  • Shell-lac
  • Shellac
)
Etymology
Shell + lac a resinous substance; cf. D. shellak, G. schellack.
Definitions
  1. See the Note under 2d Lac.

Webster 1913