Definitions

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

  • noun A purified lac in the form of thin yellow or orange flakes, often bleached white and widely used in varnishes, paints, inks, sealants, and formerly in phonograph records.
  • noun A thin varnish made by dissolving this substance in denatured alcohol, used to finish wood.
  • noun An old phonograph record containing this substance, typically played at 78 rpm.
  • transitive verb To coat or finish with shellac.
  • transitive verb To strike repeatedly and severely; batter.
  • transitive verb To defeat decisively.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Seed-lac melted and formed into thin plates. This is the form in which it is generally sold for making varnish and the like. See lac.
  • To coat with shellac.

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

  • noun Lac which has been reduced to a thin crust. See the Note under 2d lac.
  • noun A solution of shellac{1} in alcohol or other volatile solvent, used as a varnish.
  • noun Obsolescent A phonograph record, made of a material containing shellac; -- no longer manufactured.

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

  • noun A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.
  • verb To coat something with shellac.
  • verb informal, US To inflict a heavy defeat; to drub; to batter. Used primarily in sports and political contexts.

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

  • verb cover with shellac
  • noun lac purified by heating and filtering; usually in thin orange or yellow flakes but sometimes bleached white
  • noun a thin varnish made by dissolving lac in ethanol; used to finish wood

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[shel(l) + lac (translation of French laque en écailles, lac in thin plates).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

shell +‎ lac, calque translation of French laque ("lac") + en ("in") + écailles ("scales, shells")

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Examples

  • The important things are to keep the shellac cup and brush for _shellac only_, (indeed, it is

    Handwork in Wood William Noyes

  • Perhaps the spray from his orange-tan or hair shellac is getting to him.

    Evening Buzz: Gadhafi Tent Controversy 2009

  • The suggestion for white pigmented shellac is a good one, but not for the purpose of sealing the algae in, but to keep moisture out.

    Mold 2001

  • Pigmented shellac is the typical interior sealer (seals crayon, magic marker, etc).

    Mold 2001

  • Pigmented shellac is the typical interior sealer (seals crayon, magic marker, etc).

    Mold 2001

  • The suggestion for white pigmented shellac is a good one, but not for the purpose of sealing the algae in, but to keep moisture out.

    Mold 2001

  • Pigmented shellac is the typical interior sealer (seals crayon, magic marker, etc).

    Mold 2001

  • The suggestion for white pigmented shellac is a good one, but not for the purpose of sealing the algae in, but to keep moisture out.

    Mold 2001

  • The suggestion for white pigmented shellac is a good one, but not for the purpose of sealing the algae in, but to keep moisture out.

    Mold 2001

  • Pigmented shellac is the typical interior sealer (seals crayon, magic marker, etc).

    Mold 2001

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