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.

• To varnish; treat or decorate with lacquer.
• 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.
• 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.

• 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.
• transitive verb To cover with lacquer.

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