shellac

CEFRC2

/ʃəˈlæk/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A hard shiny substance used to protect and polish surfaces.

  2. 02

    verb

    To cover a surface with shellac.

Examples

  • Shellac is a resin used to make a protective coating for wood.

  • The carpenter applied a thin layer of shellac to the table.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A beating; a thrashing.

  2. To coat with shellac.

  3. A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.

More examples

In context

  • The carpenter used shellac to give the table a shiny finish.

  • But, she says, a wartime ban on recordings using shellac and vinyl kept the Walker version from being released.

  • At the turn of the century, the ever-expanding electrical industry was running low on shellac, a resin secreted by the female lac bug which could be used as an insulating material.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The artisan used a natural blank made from insect resin to seal the wood.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From shell + lac, calque of French laque en écailles (literally “lac in scales/shells”).