French word

laquer

Pronunciation

IPA/lake/

Meaning

  • verbvarnish

Example

Je vais laquer cette étagère.

I'm going to varnish this shelf.

Illustration for laquer (varnish)

More examples

Elle a décidé de laquer la porte cet après-midi.

She decided to varnish the door this afternoon.

Core concept

A smooth, glossy layer covering an object's surface.

Common phrases

  • laquer une porte

    varnish a door

  • laquer un cadre

    varnish a frame

Similar words

vernir: Coating a surface with clear varnish for gloss or protection.
peindre: Covering an object or wall with colored paint to add color.

Definition in French

Mettre une couche de produit (laque) sur un objet pour uniformiser sa surface et la rendre brillante.

Word origin

French laquer is formed from the noun laque, borrowed through Italian lacca from Arabic lakk.

Usage tips

  • Laquer is normally transitive, so the coated object follows it directly, as in laquer une étagère.

Other meanings

  • lacquerverb

Opposites

  • décaperstripverb

Related words

  • laquevarnishnoun
  • laquévarnishedadjective
  • laqueurvarnishernoun

Word lists with this word