Black BLACK, a. 1. Of the color of night; destitute of light;
dark. 2. Darkened by clouds; as the heavens black with clouds.
3. Sullen; having a cloudy look or countenance. 4. Atrociously
wicked; horrible; as a black deed or crime. 5. Dismal; mournful;
calamitous. Black and blue, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh,
which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. BLACK, n. That
which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest color, or rather a
destitution of all color; as, a cloth has a good black. 1. A negro;
a person whose skin is black. 2. A black dress, or mourning; as, to
be clothed in black. BLACK, v.t. To make black; to blacken;
to soil. BLACK'-ACT, n. [black and act.] The English statute
9.Geo.I. which makes it felony to appear armed in any park or warren,
etc., or to hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blacked or
disguised. BLACK'-BALL, n. [black and ball.] A composition
for blacking shoes. BLACK'-BALL, v.t. To reject or negative in
choosing, by putting black balls into a ballot-box. BLACK'-BAR,
n. [black and bar.] A plea obliging the plaintiff to assign the place of
trespass. BLACK'-BERRY, n. The berry of the bramble or rubus;
a popular name applied, in different places, to different species,
or varieties of this fruit.
black
adj 1: being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having
little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all
incident light; "black leather jackets"; "as black as
coal"; "rich black soil" [ant: white]
2: of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin especially
of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great people--a black
people--...injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of
civilization"- Martin Luther King Jr. [ant: white]
3: marked by anger or resentment or hostility; "black looks";
"black words"
4: offering little or no hope; "the future looked black";
"prospects were bleak"; "Life in the Aran Islands has always
been bleak and difficult"- J.M.Synge; "took a dim view of
things" [syn: black, bleak, dim]
5: stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or
dishonorable; "black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black heart
has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader of the
dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents of ethnic
hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister intelligence bent on
punishing him"-Thomas Hardy [syn: black, dark,
sinister]
6: (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire
consequences; bringing ruin; "the stock market crashed on
Black Friday"; "a calamitous defeat"; "the battle was a
disastrous end to a disastrous campaign"; "such doctrines, if
true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory"- Charles
Darwin; "it is fatal to enter any war without the will to win
it"- Douglas MacArthur; "a fateful error" [syn: black,
calamitous, disastrous, fatal, fateful]
7: (of the face) made black especially as with suffused blood;
"a face black with fury" [syn: black, blackened]
8: extremely dark; "a black moonless night"; "through the pitch-
black woods"; "it was pitch-dark in the cellar" [syn:
black, pitch-black, pitch-dark]
9: harshly ironic or sinister; "black humor"; "a grim joke";
"grim laughter"; "fun ranging from slapstick clowning ... to
savage mordant wit" [syn: black, grim, mordant]
10: (of intelligence operations) deliberately misleading; "black
propaganda"
11: distributed or sold illicitly; "the black economy pays no
taxes" [syn: bootleg, black, black-market,
contraband, smuggled]
12: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing
disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest
records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel
Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat"; "an
opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful display of
cowardice" [syn: black, disgraceful, ignominious,
inglorious, opprobrious, shameful]
13: (of coffee) without cream or sugar
14: soiled with dirt or soot; "with feet black from playing
outdoors"; "his shirt was black within an hour" [syn:
black, smutty]
n 1: the quality or state of the achromatic color of least
lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white) [syn:
black, blackness, inkiness] [ant: white,
whiteness]
2: total absence of light; "they fumbled around in total
darkness"; "in the black of night" [syn: total darkness,
lightlessness, blackness, pitch blackness, black]
3: British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who
formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat
(1728-1799) [syn: Black, Joseph Black]
4: popular child actress of the 1930's (born in 1928) [syn:
Black, Shirley Temple Black, Shirley Temple]
5: a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose
ancestors came from Africa) [syn: Black, Black person,
blackamoor, Negro, Negroid]
6: (board games) the darker pieces [ant: white]
7: black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning); "the widow wore
black"
v 1: make or become black; "The smoke blackened the ceiling";
"The ceiling blackened" [syn: blacken, melanize,
melanise, nigrify, black] [ant: white, whiten]
Black I. biographical name
Hugo LaFayette 1886-1971 American jurist & politician
II. biographical name
Sir James Whyte 1924- British pharmacologist III. geographical
nameor in ChinaAmoor in VietnamDa
river 500 miles (805 kilometers) SE Asia rising in
central Yunnan, China & flowing SE to Red River in N Vietnam
black I. adjectiveEtymology: Middle English blak, from Old English
blæc; akin to Old High German blah black, and probably to
Latin flagrare to burn, Greek phlegeinDate: before
12th century 1.a. of the color black b.(1) very dark in color <his face was black with
rage> (2) having a very deep or low register <a bass with
a black voice> (3)heavy, serious <the play
was a black intrigue>
2.a. having dark skin, hair, and eyes ;swarthy
<the black Irish> b.(1)often capitalized of or relating to any of various
population groups having dark pigmentation of the skin <black
Americans> (2) of or relating to the Afro-American people
or their culture <black literature> <a black
college> <black pride> <black studies>
(3) typical or representative of the most readily perceived
characteristics of black culture <trying to sound black>
<tried to play blacker jazz>
3. dressed in black 4.dirty, soiled <hands black
with grime> 5.a. characterized by the absence of light <a black
night> b. reflecting or transmitting little or no light
<black water> c. served without milk or cream
<black coffee>
6.a. thoroughly sinister or evil ;wicked <a
black deed> b. indicative of condemnation or discredit
<got a black mark for being late>
7. connected with or invoking the supernatural and especially the
devil <black magic> 8.a. very sad, gloomy, or calamitous <black despair>
b. marked by the occurrence of disaster <black Friday>
9. characterized by hostility or angry discontent ;sullen
<black resentment filled his heart> 10.chiefly
British subject to boycott by trade-union members as employing or
favoring nonunion workers or as operating under conditions considered unfair
by the trade union 11.a.of propaganda conducted so as to appear to originate within
an enemy country and designed to weaken enemy morale b. characterized
by or connected with the use of black propaganda <black radio>
12. characterized by grim, distorted, or grotesque satire
<black humor> 13. of or relating to covert intelligence
operations <black government programs> • blackishadjective • blacklyadverb • blacknessnounII. nounDate: before 12th century 1. a black
pigment or dye; especially one consisting largely of carbon 2.
the achromatic color of least lightness characteristically perceived
to belong to objects that neither reflect nor transmit light 3.
something that is black: as
a. black clothing <looks good in black> b.
a black animal (as a horse)
4.a. a person belonging to any of various population groups
having dark pigmentation of the skin b.Afro-American5. the pieces of a dark color in a board game for two players (as
chess) 6. total or nearly total absence of light <the black
of night> 7. the condition of making a profit — usually used
with the <operating in the black> — compare redIII. verbDate: 13th century intransitive
verb
to become black transitive verb1. to make black 2.chiefly British to declare
(as a business or industry) subject to boycott by trade-union members
black adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 very dark, having no colour from the absorption of all or nearly all incident light (like coal or soot). 2 completely dark from the absence of a source of
light (black night). 3 (Black) a of the human group having dark-coloured skin, esp. of African or Aboriginal descent. b of or relating to Black people (Black rights). 4 (of the sky, a cloud,
etc.) dusky; heavily overcast. 5 angry, threatening (a black look). 6 implying disgrace or condemnation (in his black books). 7 wicked, sinister, deadly (black-hearted). 8 gloomy,
depressed, sullen (a black mood). 9 portending trouble or difficulty (things looked black). 10 (of hands, clothes, etc.) dirty, soiled. 11 (of humour or its representation) with sinister or
macabre, as well as comic, import (black comedy). 12 (of tea or coffee) without milk. 13 Brit. a (of industrial labour or its products) boycotted, esp. by a trade union, in an industrial
dispute. b (of a person) doing work or handling goods that have been boycotted. 14 dark in colour as distinguished from a lighter variety (black bear; black pine). --n. 1 a black colour or
pigment. 2 black clothes or material (dressed in black). 3 a (in a game or sport) a black piece, ball, etc. b the player using such pieces. 4 the credit side of an account (in the
black). 5 (Black) a member of a dark-skinned race, esp. a Negro or Aboriginal. --v.tr. 1 make black (blacked his face). 2 polish with blacking. 3 Brit. declare (goods etc.)
'black'. Phrases and idioms: Black Africa the area of Africa, generally south of the Sahara, where Blacks predominate. black and blue discoloured by bruises. Black and Tans an armed
force recruited to fight Sinn Fein in Ireland in 1921, wearing a mixture of military and constabulary uniforms. black and white 1 recorded in writing or print (down in black and white). 2 (of
film etc.) not in colour. 3 consisting of extremes only, oversimplified (interpreted the problem in black and white terms). the black art = black magic. black beetle the common cockroach, Blatta
orientalis. black belt 1 a black belt worn by an expert in judo, karate, etc. 2 a person qualified to wear this. black body Physics a hypothetical perfect absorber and radiator of energy,
with no reflecting power. black box 1 a flight-recorder in an aircraft. 2 any complex piece of equipment, usu. a unit in an electronic system, with contents which are mysterious to the user.
black bread a coarse dark-coloured type of rye bread. black bryony a rooted climber, Tamus communis, with clusters of red berries. Black Country (usu. prec. by the) a district of the Midlands with
heavy industry. black damp = choke-damp. Black Death (usu. prec. by the) a widespread epidemic of bubonic plague in Europe in the 14th c. black diamond (in pl.) coal. black disc a long-playing
gramophone record, as distinct from a compact disc. black earth = CHERNOZEM. black economy unofficial economic activity. Black English the form of English spoken by many Blacks, esp. as an urban
dialect of the US. black eye bruised skin around the eye resulting from a blow. black-eyed (or black-eye) bean a variety of bean, Vigna sinensis, with seeds often dried and stored prior to eating (so
called from its black hilum). black-eyed Susan any of several flowers, esp. of the genus Rudbeckia, with yellow-coloured petals and a dark centre. black-face 1 a variety of sheep with a black
face. 2 the make-up used by a non-Black performer playing a Negro role. black flag see FLAG(1). black forest gateau a chocolate sponge with layers of morello cherries or cherry jam and whipped
cream and topped with chocolate icing, orig. from S. Germany. Black Friar a Dominican friar. black frost see FROST. black game (or grouse) a European grouse, Lyrurus tetrix. black hole 1 a
region of space possessing a strong gravitational field from which matter and radiation cannot escape: also called COLLAPSAR. 2 a place of confinement for punishment, esp. in the armed services.
black ice thin hard transparent ice, esp. on a road surface. black in the face livid with strangulation, exertion, or passion. black lead graphite. black leopard = PANTHER. black letter an old
heavy style of type. black light Physics the invisible ultraviolet or infrared radiations of the electromagnetic spectrum. black magic magic involving supposed invocation of evil spirits. Black
Maria sl. a police vehicle for transporting prisoners. black mark a mark of discredit. black market an illicit traffic in officially controlled or scarce commodities. black marketeer a person who
engages in a black market. Black Mass a travesty of the Roman Catholic Mass in worship of Satan. Black Monk a Benedictine monk. Black Muslim US a member of an exclusively Black Islamic sect
proposing a separate Black community. Black Nationalism advocacy of the national civil rights of US (and occas. other) Blacks. black nightshade see NIGHTSHADE. black out 1 a effect a blackout
on. b undergo a blackout. 2 obscure windows etc. or extinguish all lights for protection esp. against an air attack. Black Panther US one of a group of extremist fighters for Blacks' rights. black
pepper pepper made by grinding the whole dried berry, including the husk, of the pepper plant. Black Power a movement in support of rights and political power for Blacks. black pudding a black
sausage containing pork, dried pig's blood, suet, etc. Black Rod Brit. the principal usher of the Lord Chamberlain's department, House of Lords, etc. black sheep colloq. an unsatisfactory member of
a family, group, etc.; a scoundrel. black spot a place of danger or difficulty, esp. on a road (an accident black spot). black swan 1 something extremely rare. 2 an Australian swan, Cygnus
atratus, with black plumage. black tea tea that is fully fermented before drying. black tie 1 a black bow-tie worn with a dinner jacket. 2 colloq. formal evening dress. black tracker
Austral. an Aboriginal employed to help find persons lost or hiding in the bush. black velvet a drink of stout and champagne. Black Watch (usu. prec. by the) the Royal Highland Regiment (so called
from its dark tartan uniform). black-water fever a complication of malaria, in which blood cells are rapidly destroyed, resulting in dark urine. black widow a venomous spider, Latrodectus mactans, of
which the female devours the male. Derivatives: blackish adj. blackly adv. blackness n. Etymology: OE blæc
black
(blacker, blackest, blacks, blacking, blacked)Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1. Something that is black is of the darkest colour that there is, the colour of the
sky at night when there is no light at all.
She was wearing a black coat with a white collar...He had thick black hair...I wear a lot of black...He was dressed all in black.COLOUR
2. A black person belongs to a race of people with dark skins, especially a race
from Africa.
He worked for the rights of black people......the traditions of the black community.ADJ
3. Black people are sometimes referred to as blacks. This use could cause offence.
There are about thirty-one million blacks in the US.N-COUNT: usu pl
4. Black coffee or tea has no milk or cream added to it.
A cup of black tea or black coffee contains no calories...I drink coffee black.ADJ: ADJ n, v n ADJ
5. If you describe a situation as black, you are emphasizing that it is very bad indeed.
It was, he said later, one of the blackest days of his political career...The future for the industry looks even blacker.ADJ [emphasis]
6. If someone is in a black mood, they feel very miserable and depressed.
Her mood was blacker than ever.ADJ
7. Black humour involves jokes about sad or difficult situations.
'So you can all go over there and get shot,' he said, with the sort of black humour common
among British troops here...It's a black comedy of racial prejudice, mistaken identity and thwarted expectations.ADJ: usu ADJ n
8. People who believe in black magic believe that it is possible to communicate with
evil spirits.
He was also alleged to have conducted black magic ceremonies...The King was unjustly accused of practising the black arts.ADJ: ADJ n
9. If you say that someone is black and blue, you mean that they are badly bruised.
Whenever she refused, he'd beat her black and blue...Bud's nose was still black and blue.PHRASE: usu PHR after v, v-link PHR
10. If a person or an organization is in the black, they do not owe anyone any money.
Until his finances are in the black I don't want to get married.≠ in the red
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v
11. If someone gives you a black look, they look at you in a way that shows that they
are very angry about something.
Passing my stall, she cast black looks at the amount of stuff still unsold.PHRASE: N inflects, usu PHR after v
black
blæk adj., n., & v. --adj. 1 very dark, having no colour from
the absorption of all or nearly all incident light (like coal or soot). 2
completely dark from the absence of a source of light (black night). 3
(Black) a of the human group having dark-coloured skin, esp. of African
or Aboriginal descent. b of or relating to Black people (Black rights). 4
(of the sky, a cloud, etc.) dusky; heavily overcast. 5 angry, threatening
(a black look). 6 implying disgrace or condemnation (in his black books). 7
wicked, sinister, deadly (black-hearted). 8 gloomy, depressed, sullen (a
black mood). 9 portending trouble or difficulty (things looked black). 10 (of
hands, clothes, etc.) dirty, soiled. 11 (of humour or its representation)
with sinister or macabre, as well as comic, import (black comedy). 12
(of tea or coffee) without milk. 13 Brit. a (of industrial labour or its
products) boycotted, esp. by a trade union, in an industrial dispute. b
(of a person) doing work or handling goods that have been boycotted. 14
dark in colour as distinguished from a lighter variety (black bear; black
pine). --n. 1 a black colour or pigment. 2 black clothes or material (dressed
in black). 3 a (in a game or sport) a black piece, ball, etc. b the player
using such pieces. 4 the credit side of an account (in the black). 5 (Black)
a member of a dark-skinned race, esp. a Negro or Aboriginal. --v.tr. 1 make
black (blacked his face). 2 polish with blacking. 3 Brit. declare (goods
etc.) 'black'. øBlack Africa the area of Africa, generally south of the
Sahara, where Blacks predominate. black and blue discoloured by bruises. Black
and Tans an armed force recruited to fight Sinn Fein in Ireland in 1921,
wearing a mixture of military and constabulary uniforms. black and white 1
recorded in writing or print (down in black and white). 2 (of film etc.) not
in colour. 3 consisting of extremes only, oversimplified (interpreted the
problem in black and white terms). the black art = black magic. black beetle
the common cockroach, Blatta orientalis. black belt 1 a black belt worn by
an expert in judo, karate, etc. 2 a person qualified to wear this. black
body Physics a hypothetical perfect absorber and radiator of energy, with no
reflecting power. black box 1 a flight-recorder in an aircraft. 2 any complex
piece of equipment, usu. a unit in an electronic system, with contents which
are mysterious to the user. black bread a coarse dark-coloured type of rye
bread. black bryony a rooted climber, Tamus communis, with clusters of red
berries. Black Country (usu. prec. by the) a district of the Midlands with
heavy industry. black damp = choke-damp. Black Death (usu. prec. by the) a
widespread epidemic of bubonic plague in Europe in the 14th c. black diamond
(in pl.) coal. black disc a long-playing gramophone record, as distinct
from a compact disc. black earth = CHERNOZEM. black economy unofficial
economic activity. Black English the form of English spoken by many Blacks,
esp. as an urban dialect of the US. black eye bruised skin around the eye
resulting from a blow. black-eyed (or black-eye) bean a variety of bean,
Vigna sinensis, with seeds often dried and stored prior to eating (so called
from its black hilum). black-eyed Susan any of several flowers, esp. of the
genus Rudbeckia, with yellow-coloured petals and a dark centre. black-face
1 a variety of sheep with a black face. 2 the make-up used by a non-Black
performer playing a Negro role. black flag see FLAG(1). black forest gateau
a chocolate sponge with layers of morello cherries or cherry jam and whipped
cream and topped with chocolate icing, orig. from S. Germany. Black Friar
a Dominican friar. black frost see FROST. black game (or grouse) a European
grouse, Lyrurus tetrix. black hole 1 a region of space possessing a strong
gravitational field from which matter and radiation cannot escape: also
called COLLAPSAR. 2 a place of confinement for punishment, esp. in the armed
services. black ice thin hard transparent ice, esp. on a road surface. black
in the face livid with strangulation, exertion, or passion. black lead
graphite. black leopard = PANTHER. black letter an old heavy style of
type. black light Physics the invisible ultraviolet or infrared radiations
of the electromagnetic spectrum. black magic magic involving supposed
invocation of evil spirits. Black Maria sl. a police vehicle for transporting
prisoners. black mark a mark of discredit. black market an illicit traffic
in officially controlled or scarce commodities. black marketeer a person
who engages in a black market. Black Mass a travesty of the Roman Catholic
Mass in worship of Satan. Black Monk a Benedictine monk. Black Muslim US
a member of an exclusively Black Islamic sect proposing a separate Black
community. Black Nationalism advocacy of the national civil rights of US (and
occas. other) Blacks. black nightshade see NIGHTSHADE. black out 1 a effect
a blackout on. b undergo a blackout. 2 obscure windows etc. or extinguish
all lights for protection esp. against an air attack. Black Panther US one
of a group of extremist fighters for Blacks' rights. black pepper pepper
made by grinding the whole dried berry, including the husk, of the pepper
plant. Black Power a movement in support of rights and political power for
Blacks. black pudding a black sausage containing pork, dried pig's blood, suet,
etc. Black Rod Brit. the principal usher of the Lord Chamberlain's department,
House of Lords, etc. black sheep colloq. an unsatisfactory member of a family,
group, etc.; a scoundrel. black spot a place of danger or difficulty, esp. on
a road (an accident black spot). black swan 1 something extremely rare. 2
an Australian swan, Cygnus atratus, with black plumage. black tea tea that
is fully fermented before drying. black tie 1 a black bow-tie worn with a
dinner jacket. 2 colloq. formal evening dress. black tracker Austral. an
Aboriginal employed to help find persons lost or hiding in the bush. black
velvet a drink of stout and champagne. Black Watch (usu. prec. by the) the
Royal Highland Regiment (so called from its dark tartan uniform). black-water
fever a complication of malaria, in which blood cells are rapidly destroyed,
resulting in dark urine. black widow a venomous spider, Latrodectus mactans,
of which the female devours the male. øøblackish adj. blackly adv. blackness
n. [OE blóc]
Black \Black\, a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to Icel. blakkr
dark, swarthy, Sw. bl["a]ck ink, Dan. bl[ae]k, OHG. blach,
LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not akin to AS.
bl[=a]c, E. bleak pallid. ?98.]
1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the
color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark
color, the opposite of white; characterized by such a
color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes.
O night, with hue so black! --Shak.
2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
heavens black with clouds.
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
--Shak.
3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness;
destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked;
cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. ``This day's black
fate.'' ``Black villainy.'' ``Arise, black vengeance.''
``Black day.'' ``Black despair.'' --Shak.
4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
black-visaged.
Black act, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a
felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to
hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or
disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for
malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been
called black acts.
Black angel (Zo["o]l.), a fish of the West Indies and
Florida ({Holacanthus tricolor}), with the head and tail
yellow, and the middle of the body black.
Black antimony (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony,
Sb2S3, used in pyrotechnics, etc.
Black bear (Zo["o]l.), the common American bear ({Ursus
Americanus}).
Black beast. See B[^e]te noire.
Black beetle (Zo["o]l.), the common large cockroach
({Blatta orientalis}).
Black and blue, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh,
which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. ``To pinch
the slatterns black and blue.'' --Hudibras.
Black bonnet (Zo["o]l.), the black-headed bunting ({Embriza
Sch[oe]niclus}) of Europe.
Black canker, a disease in turnips and other crops,
produced by a species of caterpillar.
Black cat (Zo["o]l.), the fisher, a quadruped of North
America allied to the sable, but larger. See Fisher.
Black cattle, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in
distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.]
Black cherry. See under Cherry.
Black cockatoo (Zo["o]l.), the palm cockatoo. See
Cockatoo.
Black copper. Same as Melaconite.
Black currant. (Bot.) See Currant.
Black diamond. (Min.) See Carbonado.
Black draught (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of
senna and magnesia.
Black drop (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation
consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar.
Black earth, mold; earth of a dark color. --Woodward.
Black flag, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a
skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance.
Black flea (Zo["o]l.), a flea beetle ({Haltica nemorum})
injurious to turnips.
Black flux, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal,
obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of
niter. --Brande & C.
Black fly. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) In the United States, a small, venomous, two-winged
fly of the genus Simulium of several species,
exceedingly abundant and troublesome in the northern
forests. The larv[ae] are aquatic.
(b) A black plant louse, as the bean aphis ({A. fab[ae]}).
Black Forest [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in
Baden and W["u]rtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient
Hercynian forest.
Black game, or Black grouse. (Zo["o]l.) See Blackcock,
Grouse, and Heath grouse.
Black grass (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species Juncus
Gerardi}, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay.
Black gum (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or
pepperidge. See Tupelo.
Black Hamburg (grape) (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of
dark purple or ``black'' grape.
Black horse (Zo["o]l.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
({Cycleptus elongatus}), of the sucker family; the
Missouri sucker.
Black lemur (Zo["o]l.), the Lemurniger of Madagascar; the
acoumbo of the natives.
Black list, a list of persons who are for some reason
thought deserving of censure or punishment; -- esp. a list
of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made
for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See
Blacklist, v. t.
Black manganese (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese,
MnO2.
Black Maria, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried
to or from jail.
Black martin (Zo["o]l.), the chimney swift. See Swift.
Black moss (Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the
southern United States. See Tillandsia.
Black oak. See under Oak.
Black ocher. See Wad.
Black pigment, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance,
or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of
printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar.
Black plate, sheet iron before it is tinned. --Knight.
Black quarter, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a
shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox.
Black rat (Zo["o]l.), one of the species of rats ({Mus
rattus}), commonly infesting houses.
Black rent. See Blackmail, n., 3.
Black rust, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist
matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain.
Black sheep, one in a family or company who is unlike the
rest, and makes trouble.
Black silver. (Min.) See under Silver.
Black and tan, black mixed or spotted with tan color or
reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of
dogs.
Black tea. See under Tea.
Black tin (Mining), tin ore (cassiterite), when dressed,
stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form
of a black powder, like fine sand. --Knight.
Black walnut. See under Walnut.
Black warrior (Zo["o]l.), an American hawk ({Buteo
Harlani}).
Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
Black \Black\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Blacked; p. pr. & vb. n.
Blacking.] [See Black, a., and cf. Blacken.]
1. To make black; to blacken; to soil; to sully.
They have their teeth blacked, both men and women,
for they say a dog hath his teeth white, therefore
they will black theirs. --Hakluyt.
Sins which black thy soul. --J. Fletcher.
2. To make black and shining, as boots or a stove, by
applying blacking and then polishing with a brush.
Black \Black\, n.
1. That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest
color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth
has a good black.
Black is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons, and
the suit of night. --Shak.
2. A black pigment or dye.
3. A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or
shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain
African races.
4. A black garment or dress; as, she wears black; pl. (Obs.)
Mourning garments of a black color; funereal drapery.
Friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the
like show death terrible. --Bacon.
That was the full time they used to wear blacks for
the death of their fathers. --Sir T.
North.
5. The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest
by being black.
The black or sight of the eye. --Sir K.
Digby.
6. A stain; a spot; a smooch.
Defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks
of lust. --Rowley.
Black and white, writing or print; as, I must have that
statement in black and white.
Blue black, a pigment of a blue black color.
Ivory black, a fine kind of animal charcoal prepared by
calcining ivory or bones. When ground it is the chief
ingredient of the ink used in copperplate printing.
Berlin black. See under Berlin.
Black
properly the absence of all colour. In Prov. 7:9 the Hebrew word
means, as in the margin of the Revised Version, "the pupil of
the eye." It is translated "apple" of the eye in Deut. 32:10;
Ps. 17:8; Prov. 7:2. It is a different word which is rendered
"black" in Lev. 13:31,37; Cant. 1:5; 5:11; and Zech. 6:2, 6. It
is uncertain what the "black marble" of Esther 1:6 was which
formed a part of the mosaic pavement.
Black, AL (town, FIPS 7120)
Location: 31.00939 N, 85.74321 W
Population (1990): 174 (80 housing units)
Area: 8.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 36314
black
blæk adj.
1 jet, jet-black, coal-black, inky, sooty, swart, swarthy, raven, ebony, dusky, Literary
ebon, hyacinthine: Her hair was as black as coal.
2 Negro, Negroid, coloured, dark-skinned: Most of the Black races live near or south of
the equator.
3 dark, pitch-black, jet-black, coal-black, Stygian; starless, moonless: He bundled his
coat round himself and walked into the black night.
4 dark, sombre, dusky, gloomy, menacing, glowering, louring or lowering, threatening,
funereal: The sky became black with storm clouds.
5 malignant, baleful, baneful, deadly, deathly, sinister, dismal, hateful, disastrous:
It was a black day when he came into my life.
6 bad, foul, iniquitous, wicked, evil, diabolical, infernal, hellish, atrocious,
awful, malicious, abominable, outrageous, vicious, villainous, flagitious, vile, disgraceful,
unscrupulous, unconscionable, unprincipled, blackguardly, knavish, perfidious, insidious,
nefarious, dastardly, treacherous, unspeakable, disgraceful, shameful, scurvy, criminal,
felonious: You have told the blackest lies about me.
7 angry, wrathful, furious, frowning, bad-tempered, sulky, resentful, clouded, threatening,
glowering: She gave him a black look and he withered in abject fear. --v.
8 boycott, embargo, blacklist, ban, interdict: Because of the dispute over plumbers'
wages, the other building-trades unions have blacked every manufacturer in the business.
On most web browsers you can double click any word on this page to see what definitions I have for that word.
This dictionary server is not an authoratative source of information for anything. Like almost everything at sorabji.com, I set this up for my own purposes. In this case the purpose is to
browse words and ideas at random. An automatically generated page that produces 1000 Random Words
is my gateway to this resource. I also attempt a word of the day project,
in which I attempt to write something about myself starting with interesting words that I find through the Wordswarm Random Words Pages. I have made
available the complete 1828 Webster's Dictionary, which many feel is the greatest English dictionary ever published.
Other random links of mine include the Sorabji.com Random Link, which sends you to one of
over 7,000 pages on my web sites; the Face Server produces random images of
human faces; clicking the Random WAYD link shows you a random posting to my "What Are You Doing?" board; the Random USPS
Mailbox link sends you to a page with information about a random mailbox; and the random pictures page page of sorabji.com shows one of over 11,000 random images any time you load the page. On an unrelated note, I have begun making several thousand pages of legal documents searchable.