lacquer

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun Any of various clear or colored synthetic coatings made by dissolving nitrocellulose or other cellulose derivatives together with plasticizers and pigments in a mixture of volatile solvents and used to impart a high gloss to surfaces.
• noun A glossy, resinous material, such as the processed sap of the lacquer tree, used as a surface coating.
• noun A finish that is baked onto the inside of food and beverage cans.
• transitive verb To coat with lacquer.
• transitive verb To give a sleek, glossy finish to.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun Lac as used in dyeing.
• noun An opaque varnish containing lac, properly so called.
• noun Decorative work colored and then varnished so as to produce a hard, polished appearance like that of enamel.
• noun A resinous varnish obtained from the Rhus vernicifera by making incisions in the bark.
• noun Lacquer-ware; articles of wood which have been ornamented by coating with lacquer.
• To varnish; treat or decorate with lacquer.
• noun crude lacquer, the sap of the Rhus vernicifera of Japan.
• noun lacquer colored with lampblack, used for drawing fine lines in the shading of feathers, hair, etc., on gold lacquer.
• noun a variety of Japanese lacquer with small gold fiakes in irregular clusters. See nashiji lacquer.
• noun a pure lacquer freed from water, exposed to the light, and stirred till it becomes black: used as a basis, or undercoating, on which the finishing lacquer is afterward placed.
• noun a variety of Japanese lacquer sprinkled with gold, in imitation of the skin of a pear. Also called a venturin lacquer.
• noun a pure lacquer to which has been added water which had been used with a whetstone and contains fine particles of the stone in suspension: used on cheap ware.
• noun a variety of Japanese lacquer of a pure black or greenish-black color.
• noun a dark-green varnish made by adding to branchlacquer a small proportion of tooth-dye, which is prepared by boiling rice-vinegar in which iron filings have been placed, and by afterward exposing it to the rays of the sun for several days.
• noun a variety of Japanese lacquer produced by mixing oil with the sap of the lacqner-tree (Rhus vernicifera). It is of a yellowish color and needs no polishing. When applied to furniture, being transparent, it shows the natural grain of the wood beneath.
• noun a Japanese lacquer of a pure red color: same as coral or vermilion lacquer (which see, under coral).
• noun a red lacquer which requires no final polishing. See shunuri lacquer.
• noun a red cinnabar lacquer with carved decoration, made in China.
• noun a variety of Japanese lacquer with marbled or veined effects in various colors.
• noun varnish obtained from the branches of the lacquer-tree; branch-lacquer. See seshime lacquer, under lacquer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To cover with lacquer.
• noun A varnish, consisting of a solution of shellac in alcohol, often colored with gamboge, saffron, or the like; -- used for varnishing metals, papier-maché, and wood. The name is also given to varnishes made of other ingredients, esp. the tough, solid varnish of the Japanese, with which ornamental objects are made.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating; either a natural exudation of certain trees, or a solution of nitrocellulose in alcohol, etc.
• noun A similar finish, baked onto the inside of cans.
• verb To apply a lacquer to something or to give something a smooth, glossy finish.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun a hard glossy coating
• verb coat with lacquer
• noun a black resinous substance obtained from certain trees and used as a natural varnish