A natural resin secreted by the lac insect, used to make varnish, polish, and formerly phonograph records. When dissolved in alcohol, it creates a hard, glossy finish.
From French shellac, a compound of 'shell' + 'lac.' The 'lac' part comes from Hindi लाख (lākh) and Urdu لاکھ (lākh), both meaning 'lac resin,' which derive from Sanskrit लाक्षा (lākṣā). The term entered English in the 18th century through the colonial trade in Indian lac products.
Shellac comes from tiny insects that secrete resin on trees in India and Thailand - it takes about 300,000 lac insects to produce just one kilogram of shellac! Before plastic was invented, this insect-made material was used for everything from phonograph records to candy coating, making it one of the most economically important animal products in history.
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