lac

[ lak ]

/ læk /

noun

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).

Nearby words

labyrinthine vein, labyrinthine vertigo, labyrinthitis, labyrinthodont, labyrinthotomy, lac, lac insect, lacan, lacan, jacques, laccadive islands, laccadive, minicoy, and amindivi islands

Origin of lac

1545–55; < Hindi lākh ≪ Sanskrit lākṣā

Definition for lac (2 of 4)

lac

[ lahk ]

/ lɑk /

noun

(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.

Also lakh.

Origin of lac

1605–15; < Hindi lākh ≪ Sanskrit lakṣa

Definition for lac (3 of 4)

lac

[ lak ]

/ læk /

noun

(in prescriptions) milk.

Origin of lac

From Latin

Definition for lac (4 of 4)

LAC

leading aircraftsman.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lac

The sixteen lac which was left, therefore, required to be well economized, and well administered.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. X. (of 12)|Edmund Burke
They had now walked round the Lac d'Amour, and the two friends paused for some time on the other bridge.
The Saint|Antonio Fogazzaro
The order was, that the Nabob's stipend should be reduced to sixteen lac a year from the month of January.
The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. X. (of 12)|Edmund Burke
Most of the country is forest, producing only timber and lac but said to be rich in iron ore.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 2|Various

The king admired them, and bought them; he, moreover, gave the merchants a lac of rupees to purchase more horses for him.
The Jest Book|Mark Lemon

British Dictionary definitions for lac (1 of 3)

lac

/ (læk) /

noun

a resinous substance secreted by certain lac insects, used in the manufacture of shellac

Word Origin for lac

C16: from Dutch lak or French laque, from Hindi lākh resin, ultimately from Sanskrit lākshā

British Dictionary definitions for lac (2 of 3)

lac

/ (lɑːk) /

noun

a variant spelling of lakh

British Dictionary definitions for lac (3 of 3)

LAC

/ British /

abbreviation for

leading aircraftman

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lac

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].

Medicine definitions for lac

lac

[ lăk ]

n.

Milk.

A whitish, milky looking liquid.