This week’s theme
Nouning verbs, verbing nouns

This week’s words
eddy
brandish
truckle
shellack
hone

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(shuh-LAK)

MEANING:

noun:		A resin secreted by the lac insect and purified for use in varnishes, paints, inks, sealing waxes, phonograph records, etc. A phonograph record, especially a 78 rpm. A severe defeat or beating.
verb tr.:		To coat or treat with shellac. To thrash soundly. To defeat decisively, especially in a contest or game.

ETYMOLOGY:

From shell + lac, translation of French laque en écailles (lac in thin plates), from Latin lac, from Arabic lac, from Persian lac, from Prakrit lakkha, from Sanskrit laksha (lac, a red dye). Lac is a resin secreted by the lac insect. Earliest documented use: noun: 1713, verb: 1876.

USAGE:

“The pumpkins are placed on a table and given a coat of shellack to make the paint more brilliant.”
Kevin Allenspach; Planting Seeds for Autumn Memories; St. Cloud Times (Minnesota); Oct 5, 2014

“UConn shellacked the defending champion Gamecocks on their home court.”
Nancy Armour; Ruthless UConn Is Coming for National Title; USA Today (Arlington, Virginia); Apr 5, 2025.

See more usage examples of shellack in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: