japan

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Japanned p. pr. & vb. n. Japanning. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To cover with a coat of hard, brilliant varnish, in the manner of the Japanese; to lacquer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To give a glossy black to, as shoes. [ R. ] Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Japan, or to the lacquered work of that country; as, Japan ware. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A branch of the equatorial current of the Pacific, washing the eastern coast of Formosa and thence flowing northeastward past Japan and merging into the easterly drift of the North Pacific; -- called also Kuro-Siwo, or Black Stream, in allusion to the deep blue of its water. It is similar in may ways to the Gulf Stream. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. sing. & pl. [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A native or inhabitant of Japan; collectively, the people of Japan. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. sing. The language of the people of Japan, called in the Japanese language nihongo. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to Japan, or its inhabitants. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Treated, or coated, with varnish in the Japanese manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

Japanned leather, leather treated with coatings of Japan varnish, and dried in a stove. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who varnishes in the manner of the Japanese, or one skilled in the art. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bootblack. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The art or act of varnishing in the Japanese manner. [ 1913 Webster ]