'Coccus lacca' definitions:

Definition of 'Coccus lacca'

From: GCIDE
  • Lac \Lac\, n. [Per. lak; akin to Skr. l[=a]ksh[=a]: cf. F. lague, It. & NL. lacca. Cf. Lake a color, Lacquer, Litmus.] 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 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. [1913 Webster]