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Glite Dictionary
lacquerware

lacquerware

1 9.0
Objects like bowls or boxes made of wood covered with a hard shiny layer for decoration
  • noun
  • /ˈlæ.kər.wɛr/
translation icon : lacas
  • The museum displayed exquisite lacquerware decorated with gold leaf and intricate designs.

Examples

  • They admired a collection of lacquerware that included beautiful bowls and trays inlaid with mother-of-pearl.

  • Like the best lacquerware, it seems to have no weight.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • These lacquerware containers became symbols of wealth.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Visitors will find kimonos for adults and kids, Hello Kitty key holders, and lacquerware, along with art and antiques.

    Blog text (10)

  • The restaurant's tables and tatami rooms are occupied, the air thick with the white noise of conversation in several languages, chopsticks on lacquerware and china, fans slowly rotating overhead.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Accompanying her to the afterlife was a wealth of goods, including some of the ancient world's oldest and best-preserved lacquerware, embroidered silk, musical instruments, and writings on the importance of exercise and maintaining good health.

    Academic text (2009)

  • He carefully polished the lacquerware vase to bring out its deep colors before the guests arrived.

Synonyms

lacquerwork
vslacquerware
8.4

Objects or the art of making them with many smooth, shiny layers of special paint

refers specifically to wooden decorative pieces often inlaid with ivory or metal

How Ornate

lacquerware
1 9.0

Surface Forms

lacquerware singular
lacquerwares plural

Morphology

lacquerware = lacquer + ware (transparent) = lacquer + ware

A direct compound of 'lacquer' (a coating) + 'ware' (goods/articles), so the meaning 'objects made/coated with lacquer' follows straightforwardly.

Etymology

Lacquerware comes from lacquer and -ware, the same -ware you know in silverware. Lacquer came into English from Asian and Arabic words for the shiny tree sap used as a 'varnish', so lacquerware are objects covered with that shiny, protective coat.