lak

lak (not comparable)

1. Pronunciation spelling of like, representing African-American Vernacular English.

lak

1. Pronunciation spelling of like, representing African-American Vernacular English.

• alk., Kal., ALK, alk, alk-, lka, LKA

From Proto-Albanian *laka (“bend, curve”). Cognate to Latin lax (“bait, lure, noose, slip”), laqueus (“cord, rope (as noose, slip)”).^[1]

lak m (plural leqe, definite laku, definite plural leqet)

1. chain (trap for wild animals)
2. snare
3. rope
4. bow (of a musical instrument)
5. mountain pass
6. bend
7. curve

• lakoj
• lakim

• lakth
• lajthi

Derived from French lacre (“sealing wax”), from Portuguese laca.

• IPA^(key): [ˈlak]
• Hyphenation: lak
• Rhymes: -ak

lak m inan

1. lacquer

• “lak”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “lak”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “lak”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

From German Lack.

• IPA^(key): /lak/, [lɑɡ̊]

lak c or n (singular definite lakken or lakket, plural indefinite lakker, plural definite lakkerne)

1. lacquer

• IPA^(key): /lɑk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lak
• Rhymes: -ɑk

First occurring in the late 16th century. Probably borrowed from French laque, ultimately from Persian لاک (lâk), from Hindi लाख (lākh), from Sanskrit लाक्षा (lākṣā).

lak m or f or n (plural lakken, diminutive lakje n)

1. lacquer

• autolak
• haarlak
• lakken
• nagellak

• → Indonesian: lak
• → Papiamentu: lak, láker (dated)

lak m or n (uncountable)

1. foolery, foolishness, nonsense
   • 1859, "Wijsgeerig A. B. C.: H. Huisbaas", Humoristisch Album, H. Nijgh, page 59.

     […] Wie om reparatie malen / Heeft hij spoedig in zijn zak; / Zelf zal hij er niet naar talen -- / Wat hij toezegt is slechts lak; / Er is niets van hem te halen, / Zelfs al zat men zonder dak.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. indifference (only in lak hebben aan)

• lak hebben aan

From Middle Dutch lac, from Old Dutch *lak, from Proto-West Germanic *lak, from Proto-Germanic *laką, *lakaz, related to Proto-Germanic *lak(k)ōną (“to blame, reproach”), from Proto-Indo-European *lok-néh₂-. See also Old Norse lakr (“lacking”), English lack.

lak m or n (plural lakken)

1. (dialectal) defect, deficiency, shortcoming, blame, blemish

• laken

From Middle Dutch lac, from Old Dutch *laka, from Proto-West Germanic *laku.

lak n (plural lakken)

1. (archaic) lake

   Synonym: meer

• alk, kal

For pronunciation and definitions of lak – see 落 (“to fall; to drop; etc.”). (This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 落).

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *lakka (“cover, roof, shelter”), compare Finnish lakka and Estonian lakk.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɒk]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lak
• Rhymes: -ɒk

lak (plural lakok)

1. (archaic) habitation, abode, residence
2. (poetic) dwelling
   • 1843, Sándor Petőfi, Távolból (From a Distance), poem lines 1–2 [1]

     Kis lak áll a nagy Duna mentében;
     Oh mi drága e lakocska nékem!

     A small house stands along the big Danube;
     Oh how dear this tiny house is to me!

   • 1872, Mór Jókai, Az arany ember^[2] (Timar’s Two Worlds),^[3] part 1, chapter 7, translated by Mrs. Hegan Kennard:

     Timár a rejtett tanya felé irányozta lépteit. A virágoskerten keresztül már látszott valami út, mely a lakhoz vezet, csakhogy azt is úgy belepte a fű, hogy a rajta járó lépése nem okozott dobajt; egész nesztelenül juthatott el a kis verandáig.

     Timar turned his steps toward the creeper-covered cottage. Through the flower-garden a path led to the house, but so covered with grass that his steps were not heard, and he could thus get as far as the little veranda quite noiselessly.

The possessive forms are now more common with j, those without it being archaic. See this reference site for the possessive declensions.

• lak in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

• IPA^(key): /laːk/
• Rhymes: -aːk

From Old Norse lak, borrowed from Middle Low German laken, from Old Saxon lakan, from Proto-Germanic *lakaną.

lak n (genitive singular laks, nominative plural lök)

1. sheet, bedsheet

lak

1. first/third-person singular past indicative of leka

   Vatnið lak úr vaskinum.

   The water leaked from the sink.

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈlak/ [ˈlak̚]
• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: lak
• Homophone: LAK

Borrowed from Dutch lak (“lacquer”).

lak (plural lak-lak)

1. lacquer

• laka

• lakeri

Internationalism

lak (plural lak-lak)

1. (zoology) Kerria lacca
2. inorganic substances that absorb color

• “lak” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

lak (plural lake)

1. tooth

Cognate with Garo jak (“hand”).

lak

1. hand

• IPA^(key): /ˈlak/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: lak
• Homophone: lag

Borrowed from German Lack, from Italian lacca, from Arabic لَكّ (lakk).

lak m inan

1. sealing wax
2. dental sealant

Borrowed from German Lack, from Latin leucoium.

lak m inan

1. wallflower (any plant of the genus Erysimum)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

lak f

1. genitive plural of laka

• lak in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• lak in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Sanskrit लक्ष (lakṣa).

lak

1. hundred thousand

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьgъkъ, from pre-Slavic *h₁ln̥gʷʰ-u-ko, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lengʷʰ-.

• IPA^(key): /lâk/

lȁk (Cyrillic spelling ла̏к, definite lȁkī, comparative lȁkšī)

1. easy
2. light

• lȁgan

• “lak”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

Borrowed from German Lack.

• IPA^(key): /lâk/

lȁk m inan (Cyrillic spelling ла̏к)

1. lacquer

• (nail polish): lak za nokte

• “lak”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

lak

1. alternative form of lakk

Akin to the synonymous Judeo-Tat lok, Azerbaijani lək, Armenian լաք (lakʻ). See the Armenian entry for more.

lak

1. bed (in a garden)

• Грюнберг, А. Л. (1963) Язык североазербайджанских татов [The language of the North Azerbaijani Tats]‎^[4] (in Russian), Leningrad: Academy Press, pages 179a, 182b
• Soltanov, A. K., Soltanov, M. C. (2013) “lak”, in Tati–türki, türki–tati lüğət [Tat–Azerbaijani, Azerbaijani–Tat Dictionary]‎^[5], Baku: Qanun, page 108b

• IPA^(key): /láɡ/

lak

1. refusal

lak

1. refuse

lak (nominative plural laks)

1. lake

Inherited from Latin lacus, from Proto-Italic *lakus, from Proto-Indo-European *lókus (“lake, pool”).

• IPA^(key): /lak/

lak m (plural laks)

1. lake

   Synonym: laetche