Definition of shellac Shellac

We found 9 definitions of shellac from 5 different sources.

What does shellac mean?

Noun Plural: shellacs
shellac - a thin varnish made by dissolving lac in ethanol; used to finish wood
		shellac varnish
		varnish a coating that provides a hard, lustrous, transparent finish to a surface
		french polish shellac, french polish a varnish for wood consisting of shellac dissolved in alcohol
shellac - lac purified by heating and filtering; usually in thin orange or yellow flakes but sometimes bleached white
		lac resinlike substance secreted by certain lac insects; used in e.g. varnishes and sealing wax
Verb shellacs, shellacing, shellaced
shellac - cover with shellac; "She wanted to shellac the desk to protect it from water spots"
		shellack
		varnish, seal cover with varnish

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shellac (Noun)
A processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca ; used in polishes, varnishes etc.
shellac (Verb)
To coat something with shellac.
shellac (Verb)
To inflict a heavy defeat; to drub; to batter. Used primarily in sports and political contexts.

shellac
A resin; produced as an exudation upon the branches of certain Asiatic trees, such as the banyan (Ficus religiosa). It is due to punctures in the bark of the trees in question, which punctures are made by the female of the insect coccus ficus or c. lacca.
Commercial shellac contains about 90 per cent. of resinous material, the rest is made up of wax, gluten, coloring matter and other substances.
Shellac is soluble in alcohol, and in aqueous solutions of ammonium chloride, of borax and in strong ammonia solution. Long standing is required in the case of the last named solvent. Dilute hydrochloric and acetic acids dissolve it readily; nitric acid slowly; strong sulphuric acid is without action on it. Alkalies dissolve it.
In electric work it is used as an insulator and dielectric. Its alcoholic solution is used to varnish glass plates of influence machines, for the coils of induction coils and similar purposes.
Resistance in ohms per centimeter cube at 28° C. (82.4 F.)--(Ayrton),
Specific Inductive Capacity (Wüllner),
2.95 to 3.73
The same substance in less pure forms occurs in commerce, as stick lac, lump lac, seed lac, button lac.