Lac

n. [Ger. & Sw. lack, D. & Dan. lak, Fr. laque, Pr. & Sp. laca, It. & N. Lat. lacca, from Per. lak, Skr. lākshā and rākshā, from ranj, to dye.] A resinous substance produced mainly upon the banyan tree, by the Coccus lacca, a scale-shaped insect, the female of which fixes itself on the bark, and exudes from the margin of the body this resinous substance.

☞ Stick-lac is the substance in its natural state, incrusting small twigs. When broken off, and boiled in alkaline water, the residuum is called seed-lac. When melted, and reduced to a thin crust, it is called shell-lac. Lac is a principal ingredient in sealing-wax and lacquers.