Etymology

lacquer

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Today it means: A glossy, resinous material used as a surface coating; either a natural exudation of certain trees, or a solution of nitrocellulose in alcohol, etc. Full definition →

French lacque ← Portuguese laca ← Persian لاک
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The story

  1. Sanskrit · derived fromलाक्षा
  2. Hindi · derived fromलाख
  3. Persian · derived fromلاک
  4. Portuguese · derived fromlaca
  5. French · borrowed fromlacque“a sort of sealing wax”
  6. English todaylacquer

Borrowed from French lacque (“a sort of sealing wax”), from Portuguese laca, lacca (“gum lac”), from Persian لاک (lâk), from Hindi लाख (lākh), from Sanskrit लाक्षा (lākṣā). Doublet of lac.

Words from the same roots

Portugueselaca all →

lac

Persianلاک all →

lake

Hindiलाख all →

lakelac

Sanskritलाक्षा all →

lakelac

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.