lac
1- a resinous substance deposited on the twigs of various trees in southern Asia by the female of the lac insect: used in the manufacture of varnishes, sealing wax, etc., and in the production of a red coloring matter.Compare shellac(defs 1, 2).
Origin of lac
1lac
2- (in India)
- the sum of 100,000, especially of rupees. The usual punctuation for sums of Indian money above a lac is with a comma after the number of lacs: Rs. 30,52,000 (i.e., 30 lacs and 52,000) instead of 3,052,000.
- an indefinitely large number.
Origin of lac
2lac
3- (in prescriptions) milk.
Origin of lac
3LAC
- leading aircraftsman.
Examples from the Web for lac
Historical Examples of lac
There are a good many Indians about here, says a letter from Lac qui Parle.
Old Fort SnellingMarcus L. Hansen
I was on my way to work for the Williamsons, missionaries, at Lac qui Parle.
Old Rail Fence CornersVarious
In the beginning of this story I said what Lac Tremblant was like.
The La Chance Mine MysterySusan Carleton Jones
“If you can rid me of these children, I will give you 229 a lac of gold pieces,” she said.
Tales of Folk and FairiesKatharine Pyle
It was located to the south and a little west of Lac Vieux Desert.
The Passenger PigeonVarious
lac
1- a resinous substance secreted by certain lac insects, used in the manufacture of shellac
Word Origin for lac
lac
2- a variant spelling of lakh
LAC
- leading aircraftman
Word Origin and History for lac
"red resinous substance," 1550s (perhaps via Middle French lacce), earlier lacca (early 15c., from Medieval Latin form lacca), from Persian lak, from Hindi lakh (Prakrit lakkha), from Sanskrit laksha "red dye," which according to Klein is literally "one hundred thousand," in reference to the insects that gather in great numbers on the trees and make the resin run out. But others say lakh is an alteration of Sanskrit rakh, from an IE root word for "color, dye" [Watkins]. Still another guess is that Sanskrit laksha is related to English lax, lox "salmon," and the substance was perhaps originally so called from being somewhat the color of salmon [Barnhart].
lac
(lăk)- Milk.
- A whitish, milky looking liquid.