shellac

or shel·lack

[shuh-lak]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shellac ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

lac that has been purified and formed into thin sheets, used for making varnish.

a varnish (shellac varnish) made by dissolving this material in alcohol or a similar solvent.

a phonograph record made of a breakable material containing shellac, especially one to be played at 78 r.p.m.: an LP that can hold nearly 10 times as much as the old shellac.

verb (used with object), shel·lacked, shel·lack·ing.

to coat or treat with shellac.

Slang.

to defeat; trounce.
to thrash soundly.

Origin of shellac

1705–15; shell + lac¹, translation of French laque en écailles lac in thin plates

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

Related Words for shellac

strike, varnish, trounce, defeat

Examples from the Web for shellac

Historical Examples of shellac

A sine qua non is that the glass be hot enough to melt the shellac.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
The cement consists of a mixture of shellac and 10 per cent of oil of cassia.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
On no account must the shellac be allowed to get overheated.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
It is then coated with shellac by heating and rubbing upon the shellac.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
Shellac is the most common and the most useful of the spirit varnishes.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes

British Dictionary definitions for shellac

shellac

noun

a yellowish resin secreted by the lac insect, esp a commercial preparation of this used in varnishes, polishes, and leather dressings

Also called: shellac varnish a varnish made by dissolving shellac in ethanol or a similar solvent

a gramophone record based on shellac

verb -lacs, -lacking or -lacked (tr)

to coat or treat (an article) with a shellac varnish

US slang to defeat completely

Derived Formsshellacker, noun

Word Origin for shellac

C18: shell + lac 1, translation of French laque en écailles, literally: lac in scales, that is, in thin plates

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 shellac

1713, from shell (n.) + lac (see lacquer). Translates French laque en écailles "lac in thin plates."

1876, from shellack (n.). The slang sense of "beat soundly" is 1920s, perhaps from the notion of shellac as a "finish." Shellacked "drunk" is from 1922 (cf. plastered). Related: Shellacking.