4 definitions found

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

Japan

noun

1: a string of more than 3,000 islands east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean [syn: {Japanese Islands}, {Japanese Archipelago}]

2: a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship building [syn: {Nippon}, {Nihon}]

3: lacquerware decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner with a glossy durable black lacquer

4: lacquer with a durable glossy black finish, originally from the orient

verb: coat with a lacquer, as done in Japan

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Japan \Ja*pan"\ (j[.a]*p[a^]n"), verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Japanned} (j[.a]*p[a^]nd"); p. pr. & vb. n. {Japanning}.]

1. To cover with a coat of hard, brilliant varnish, in the manner of the Japanese; to lacquer.

2. To give a glossy black to, as shoes. [R.] --Gay.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Japan \Ja*pan"\ (j[.a]*p[a^]n"), noun [From Japan, the country.] Work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner; also, the varnish or lacquer used in japanning.

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

Japan \Ja*pan"\, adjective Of or pertaining to Japan, or to the lacquered work of that country; as, Japan ware.

{Japan allspice} (Bot.), a spiny shrub from Japan ({Chimonanthus fragrans}), related to the Carolina allspice.

{Japan black} (Chem.), a quickly drying black lacquer or varnish, consisting essentially of asphaltum dissolved in naphtha or turpentine, and used for coating ironwork; -- called also {Brunswick black}, {Japan lacquer}, or simply {Japan}.

{Japan camphor}, ordinary camphor brought from China or Japan, as distinguished from the rare variety called {borneol} or {Borneo camphor}.

{Japan clover}, or {Japan pea} (Bot.), a cloverlike plant ({Lespedeza striata}) from Eastern Asia, useful for fodder, first noticed in the Southern United States about 1860, but now become very common. During the Civil War it was called variously {Yankee clover} and {Rebel clover}.

{Japan earth}. See {Catechu}.

{Japan ink}, a kind of writing ink, of a deep, glossy black when dry.

{Japan varnish}, a varnish prepared from the milky juice of the {Rhus vernix}, a small Japanese tree related to the poison sumac.
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