Japan Definition

jə-păn

japanned, japanning, japans

noun

A lacquer or varnish giving a hard, glossy finish.

Webster's New World

A liquid mixture used as a paint drier.

Webster's New World

Objects decorated and lacquered in the Japanese style.

Webster's New World

A hard black enamel varnish containing asphalt.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

verb

To varnish or lacquer with or as with japan.

Webster's New World

To coat with a glossy finish.

American Heritage

pronoun

An island nation in the Pacific Ocean, located to the east of China, Korea and Russia.

Wiktionary

Origin of Japan

Although the earliest form of "Japan" in Europe was Marco Polo's "Chipangu", the first recorded form in English was in a letter dated February 19, 1565 (published 1577), spelt “Giapan”. “Of the Ilande of Giapan”, by Luīs Fróis (a Portuguese Jesuit missionary in Japan), published in Richard Willes, “The History of Travayle in the West and East Indies” (London 1577), cited in “Travel Narratives from the Age of Discovery”, by Peter C. Mancall, pp. 156–57.

From Wiktionary
From Dutch Japan or Portuguese Japão, from Malay Jepang, from Sinitic 日本 (Middle Chinese nyit-pwón < Old Chinese *nit-pˁənʔ) (compare Cantonese Yat⁶-bun² 日本, Korean Ilbon 일본, Japanese Nippon にっぽん, Mandarin Rìběn 日本, Vietnamese Nhật Bản).

From Wiktionary
From Japan, due to this varnishing process being an imitation of oriental (East Asian) processes.

From Wiktionary
After Japan

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition