Shellac
/ʃəˈlæk/noun
A hard, glossy resin used as a varnish and finish, or a product made from it.
Did you know?Shellac is made from the secretions of the lac insect, and the word entered English through a trade name built from the earlier word lac, not from any “shell” root at all.
Etymological Timeline
Sanskrit
Skt
lakṣā
“lac; a red resinous dye or the lac insect that produces it”
Hindi
Hind
lākh
“lac, a resinous substance used as dye and varnish”
Persian
Per
lak
“lac; the resinous secretion used in trade”
17th-18th Century
Eng
shell-lac
“a trade term for lac in thin shell-like flakes”
Modern English
Eng
shellac
“a resinous varnish made from lac, or the finished coating itself”