black

black [blak]

adj.

[ME blak < OE blæc < IE * bhleg-, burn, gleam (> L flagrare, flame, burn) < base * bhel-, to gleam, white: orig. sense, “sooted, smoke-black from flame”]

1. opposite to white; of the color of coal or pitch: see COLOR

2. [sometimes B-]

a) designating or of any of the dark-skinned traditional inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, or Melanesia or their descendants in other parts of the world

b) by, for, or about black people as a group; specif., in the U.S., by, for, or about black Americans [black studies]: see AFRICAN-AMERICAN

3.

a) totally without light; in complete darkness

b) very dark

4. without cream, milk, etc.: said of coffee

5. soiled; dirty

6. wearing black clothing

7. evil; wicked; harmful

8. disgraceful

9. full of sorrow or suffering; sad; dismal; gloomy

10. disastrous

11. sullen or angry [black looks]

12. without hope [a black future]

13. inveterate; confirmed; deep-dyed [a black villain]

14. humorous or satirical in a morbid or cynical way [black comedy]

15. secret; covert; hidden [a CIA black operator]

n.

1.

a) black color

b) a black pigment, paint, or dye

2. any substance or thing that is black

3. a spot or area that is black

4. black clothes, esp. when worn in mourning

5. [sometimes B-] a member of a black people

6. complete darkness or absence of light

7. Chess the player or side with the black or darker-colored pieces

vt., vi.

1. to make black; blacken

2. to polish with blacking

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black out

1. to cover (writing, printing, etc.) with black pencil marks or paint

2. to cause a blackout in

3. to lose consciousness; faint

4. to lose all memory of an event or fact

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☆ in the black [from the practice of entering a credit item in account books with black ink]

operating at a profit

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☆ into the black

into a profitable condition financially

blackish

adj.

blackness

n.