Definition of: lacquer

(lak′ər) noun
1. A quick–drying varnish made from pyroxylin or other resin, nitrocellulose, and sometimes a pigment, dissolved in a volatile solvent.
2. Varnished woodwork, often inlaid: Chinese lacquer, Japanese lacquer: also lac′quer·work′.
3. A resinous varnish susceptible of a fine polish, obtained from the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernici-fluum) of China and Japan.
4. Decorative work, as on leather lacquered in imitation of enamel.
—v.t. To coat or varnish with lacquer. Also lack′er. [<MF lacre a kind of sealing wax <Pg. <lacca gum lac <Hind. lākh LAC¹; infl. in form by F lacque LAC¹]
—lac′quer·er noun