Lac, n. A resinous substance produced mainly on the banyan tree, but to some extent on other trees, by the Laccifer lacca (formerly Coccus lacca), a scale-shaped insect, the female of which fixes herself on the bark, and exudes from the margin of her body this resinous substance.
Note: ☞ Stick-lac is the substance in its natural state, incrusting small twigs. When broken off, and the coloring matter partly removed, the granular residuum is called seed-lac. When melted, and reduced to a thin crust, it is called shell-lac or shellac. Lac is an important ingredient in sealing wax, dyes, varnishes, and lacquers.
Ceylon lac, a resinous exudation of the tree Croton lacciferum, resembling lac.
Lac dye, a scarlet dye obtained from stick-lac.
Lac lake, the coloring matter of lac dye when precipitated from its solutions by alum.
Mexican lac, an exudation of the tree Croton Draco.
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lac dye
n : scarlet dye like cochineal; extracted with alkali from stick
lac