lak

See also: Appendix:Variations of "lak"

English

Adverb

lak (not comparable)

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

Conjunction

lak

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

Anagrams

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

Albanian

Etymology

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

Noun

lak m

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

Related terms

• lakoj
• lakim

Related terms

• lakth
• lajthi

Czech

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

Noun

lak m inan

1. lacquer

Declension

Declension of lak (velar masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	laky
genitive	laku	laků
dative	laku	lakům
accusative	lak	laky
vocative	laku	laky
locative	laku	lacích
instrumental	lakem	laky

Related terms

• lakovat
• lakýrník

Further reading

• “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

Danish

Etymology

From German Lack.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lak/, [lɑɡ̊]

Noun

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

1. lacquer

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɑk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lak
• Rhymes: -ɑk

Etymology 1

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).

Noun

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

1. lacquer

Derived terms

• autolak
• haarlak
• lakken
• nagellak

Descendants

• → Papiamentu: lak, láker (dated)

Etymology 2

Noun

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)

Derived terms

• lak hebben aan

Etymology 3

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.

Noun

lak m or n (plural lakken)

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

Related terms

• laken

Etymology 4

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

Noun

lak n (plural lakken)

1. (archaic) lake

   Synonym: meer

Anagrams

• alk, kal

Hokkien

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

Hungarian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɒk]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: lak
• Rhymes: -ɒk

Noun

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.

Declension

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

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	lakok
accusative	lakot	lakokat
dative	laknak	lakoknak
instrumental	lakkal	lakokkal
causal-final	lakért	lakokért
translative	lakká	lakokká
terminative	lakig	lakokig
essive-formal	lakként	lakokként
essive-modal	lakul	—
inessive	lakban	lakokban
superessive	lakon	lakokon
adessive	laknál	lakoknál
illative	lakba	lakokba
sublative	lakra	lakokra
allative	lakhoz	lakokhoz
elative	lakból	lakokból
delative	lakról	lakokról
ablative	laktól	lakoktól
non-attributive possessive – singular	laké	lakoké
non-attributive possessive – plural	lakéi	lakokéi

Possessive forms of lak

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	lakom	lakaim, lakjaim
2nd person sing.	lakod	lakaid, lakjaid
3rd person sing.	laka, lakja	lakai, lakjai
1st person plural	lakunk	lakaink, lakjaink
2nd person plural	lakotok	lakaitok, lakjaitok
3rd person plural	lakuk, lakjuk	lakaik, lakjaik

Derived terms

• lakik → lakályos, lakás, lakatlan, lakhatás, lakhatatlan, lakható, lakó, lakos, lakosság, lakott, lakozik, lakta
• lakocska

Compound words with this term at the beginning

• lakberendezés, lakberendező
• lakbér
• lakcím
• lakház (archaic)
• lakhely
• lakosztály
• lakrész
• lakszoba (archaic)
• laktanya
• laktárs (archaic)
• lakváltoztatás (archaic)

Compound words with this term at the end

• erdészlak
• kéjlak
• paplak
• remetelak
• úrlak (archaic)
• vadászlak
• várlak

Geographical proper nouns

• Abaújlak
• Acsalag (?< Acsa + lak)
• Alsóújlak
• Balatonszéplak
• Balatonújlak
• Csertalakos
• Farkaslaka
• Fertőszéplak
• Geresdlak
• Géderlak
• Illocska (< Újlak + -csa)
• Kacorlak
• Kaposújlak
• Kéttornyúlak
• Lak
• Lakhegy
• Magyarlak
• Mezőlak
• Mikosszéplak
• Nagylak
• Ormándlak
• Öreglak
• Pusztaottlaka
• Répcelak
• Rinyaújlak
• Stájerlakanina (< Stájerlak + Anina)
• Szamosújlak
• Szőlőskislak
• Tátraszéplak
• Vindornyalak
• Zalaújlak
• Zetelaka
• Zsáka (< Izsólaka)
• Zselickislak

Further reading

• 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.

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laːk/
• Rhymes: -aːk

Etymology 1

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

Noun

lak n (genitive singular laks, nominative plural lök)

1. sheet, bedsheet

Declension

Declension of lak (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	lak	lakið	lök	lökin
accusative	lak	lakið	lök	lökin
dative	laki	lakinu	lökum	lökunum
genitive	laks	laksins	laka	lakanna

Etymology 2

Verb

lak

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

   Vatnið lak úr vaskinum.

   The water leaked from the sink.

Luo

Noun

lak (plural lake)

1. tooth

Narua

Etymology

Cognate with Garo jak (“hand”).

Noun

lak

1. hand

Derived terms

• lakbing
• lakching
• lakchu
• lakda
• lakpo
• laksin

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlak/

• Audio:

  (file)

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

Etymology 1

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

Noun

lak m inan

1. sealing wax
2. dental sealant

Declension

Declension of lak

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	laki
genitive	laku	laków
dative	lakowi	lakom
accusative	lak	laki
instrumental	lakiem	lakami
locative	laku	lakach
vocative	laku	laki

Etymology 2

Borrowed from German Lack, from Latin leucoium.

Noun

lak m inan

1. wallflower (any plant of the genus Erysimum)

Declension

Declension of lak

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	laki
genitive	laku	laków
dative	lakowi	lakom
accusative	lak	laki
instrumental	lakiem	lakami
locative	laku	lakach
vocative	laku	laki

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

lak f

1. genitive plural of laka

Derived terms

adjective

• lakowy

Further reading

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

Rohingya

Etymology

From Sanskrit लक्ष (lakṣa).

Numeral

lak

1. hundred thousand

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lâk/

Adjective

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

1. easy
2. light

Declension

positive indefinite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		lak	laka	lako
genitive		laka	lake	laka
dative		laku	lakoj	laku
accusative	inanimate animate	lak laka	laku	lako
vocative		lak	laka	lako
locative		laku	lakoj	laku
instrumental		lakim	lakom	lakim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		laki	lake	laka
genitive		lakih	lakih	lakih
dative		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)
accusative		lake	lake	laka
vocative		laki	lake	laka
locative		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)
instrumental		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)

positive definite forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		laki	laka	lako
genitive		lakog(a)	lake	lakog(a)
dative		lakom(u/e)	lakoj	lakom(u/e)
accusative	inanimate animate	laki lakog(a)	laku	lako
vocative		laki	laka	lako
locative		lakom(e/u)	lakoj	lakom(e/u)
instrumental		lakim	lakom	lakim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		laki	lake	laka
genitive		lakih	lakih	lakih
dative		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)
accusative		lake	lake	laka
vocative		laki	lake	laka
locative		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)
instrumental		lakim(a)	lakim(a)	lakim(a)

comparative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		lakši	lakša	lakše
genitive		lakšeg(a)	lakše	lakšeg(a)
dative		lakšem(u)	lakšoj	lakšem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	lakši lakšeg(a)	lakšu	lakše
vocative		lakši	lakša	lakše
locative		lakšem(u)	lakšoj	lakšem(u)
instrumental		lakšim	lakšom	lakšim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		lakši	lakše	lakša
genitive		lakših	lakših	lakših
dative		lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)
accusative		lakše	lakše	lakša
vocative		lakši	lakše	lakša
locative		lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)
instrumental		lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)	lakšim(a)

superlative forms

singular		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najlakši	najlakša	najlakše
genitive		najlakšeg(a)	najlakše	najlakšeg(a)
dative		najlakšem(u)	najlakšoj	najlakšem(u)
accusative	inanimate animate	najlakši najlakšeg(a)	najlakšu	najlakše
vocative		najlakši	najlakša	najlakše
locative		najlakšem(u)	najlakšoj	najlakšem(u)
instrumental		najlakšim	najlakšom	najlakšim
plural		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative		najlakši	najlakše	najlakša
genitive		najlakših	najlakših	najlakših
dative		najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)
accusative		najlakše	najlakše	najlakša
vocative		najlakši	najlakše	najlakša
locative		najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)
instrumental		najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)	najlakšim(a)

Related terms

• lȁgan

Further reading

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

Etymology 2

From German Lack, from Italian lacca.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lâk/

Noun

lȁk m (Cyrillic spelling ла̏к)

1. lacquer

Declension

Declension of lak

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	lakovi
genitive	laka	lakova
dative	laku	lakovima
accusative	lak	lakove
vocative	laku	lakovi
locative	laku	lakovima
instrumental	lakom	lakovima

Derived terms

• (nail polish): lak za nokte

Further reading

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

Swedish

Interjection

lak

1. Alternative form of lakk

Tat

Etymology

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

Noun

lak

1. bed (in a garden)

Further reading

• 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

Tyap

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /láɡ/

Noun

lak

1. refusal

Verb

lak

1. refuse

Volapük

Noun

lak (nominative plural laks)

1. lake

Declension

Declension of lak

	singular	plural
nominative	lak	laks
genitive	laka	lakas
dative	lake	lakes
accusative	laki	lakis
vocative 1	o lak!	o laks!
predicative 2	laku	lakus

¹ status as a case is disputed
² in later, non-classical Volapük only

Walloon

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lak/

Noun

lak m (plural laks)

1. lake

   Synonym: laetche