Black Black transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blacked ;
present participle & verbal noun Blacking .] [ See
Black ,
adjective , and confer
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 art Black" art` The art practiced by conjurers and witches; necromancy; conjuration; magic. » This name was given in the Middle Ages to necromancy, under the idea that the latter term was derived from niger black, instead of nekro`s , a dead person, and mantei`a , divination. Wright.
Black bass Black" bass` (Zoology) 1. An edible, fresh-water fish of the United States, of the genus Micropterus . the small-mouthed kind is M. dolomieī ; the large-mouthed is M. salmoides . 2. The sea bass. See Blackfish , 3.
Black book Black" book` (bok`). 1. One of several books of a political character, published at different times and for different purposes; -- so called either from the color of the binding, or from the character of the contents. 2. A book compiled in the twelfth century, containing a description of the court of exchequer of England, an official statement of the revenues of the crown, etc. 3. A book containing details of the enormities practiced in the English monasteries and religious houses, compiled by order of their visitors under Henry VIII., to hasten their dissolution. 4. A book of admiralty law, of the highest authority, compiled in the reign of Edw. III. Bouvier. Wharton. 5. A book kept for the purpose of registering the names of persons liable to censure or punishment, as in the English universities, or the English armies. 6. Any book which treats of necromancy.
Black death Black" death` A pestilence which ravaged Europe and Asia in the fourteenth century.
Black Flags Black Flags An organization composed originally of Chinese rebels that had been driven into Tonkin by the suppression of the Taiping rebellion, but later increased by bands of pirates and adventurers. It took a prominent part in fighting the French during their hostilities with Anam, 1873-85.
Black friar Black" fri`ar (Eccl.) A friar of the Dominican order; -- called also predicant and preaching friar ; in France, Jacobin . Also, sometimes, a Benedictine.
Black Friday Black Friday Any Friday on which a public disaster has occurred, as: In England, December 6, 1745, when the news of the landing of the Pretender reached London, or May 11, 1866, when a financial panic commenced. In the United States, September 24, 1869, and September 18, 1873, on which financial panics began.
Black Hamburg Black Ham"burg A sweet and juicy variety of European grape, of a dark purplish black color, much grown under glass in northern latitudes.
Black Hand Black Hand [ A trans. of Spanish mano negra .] 1. A Spanish anarchistic society, many of the members of which were imprisoned in 1883. 2. A lawless or blackmailing secret society, esp. among Italians. [ U. S.]
Black hole Black" hole` A dungeon or dark cell in a prison; a military lock-up or guardroom; -- now commonly with allusion to the cell (the Black Hole) in a fort at Calcutta, into which 146 English prisoners were thrust by the nabob Suraja Dowla on the night of June 20, 17656, and in which 123 of the prisoners died before morning from lack of air. A discipline of unlimited autocracy, upheld by rods, and ferules, and the black hole .
H. Spencer.
Black lead Black` lead" Plumbago; graphite. It leaves a blackish mark somewhat like lead. See Graphite .
Black letter Black" let`ter The old English or Gothic letter, in which the Early English manuscripts were written, and the first English books were printed. It was conspicuous for its blackness. See Type .
Black Monday Black" Mon`day 1. Easter Monday, so called from the severity of that day in 1360, which was so unusual that many of Edward III.'s soldiers, then before Paris, died from the cold. Stow. Then it was not for nothing that my nose fell a bleeding on Black Monday last.
Shak.
2. The first Monday after the holidays; -- so called by English schoolboys. Halliwell.
Black monk Black" monk` A Benedictine monk.
Black pudding Black" pud"ding A kind of sausage made of blood, suet, etc., thickened with meal. And fat black puddings , -- proper food,
For warriors that delight in blood.
Hudibras.
Black Rod Black" Rod` (a) the usher to the Chapter of the Garter, so called from the black rod which he carries. He is of the king's chamber, and also usher to the House of Lords. [ Eng.]
(b) An usher in the legislature of British colonies. Cowell. Committed to the custody of the Black Rod .
Macaulay.
Black salts Black" salts` Crude potash. De Colange.
Black snake Black" snake` (snāk) or
Black"snake noun (Zoology) A snake of a black color, of which two species are common in the United States, the Bascanium constrictor , or racer, sometimes six feet long, and the Scotophis Alleghaniensis , seven or eight feet long. » The name is also applied to various other black serpents, as
Natrix atra of Jamaica.
Black Spanish Black Spanish One of an old and well-known Mediterranean breed of domestic fowls with glossy black plumage, blue legs and feet, bright red comb and wattles, and white face. They are remarkable as egg layers.
Black vomit Black" vom"it (Medicine) A copious vomiting of dark-colored matter; or the substance so discharged; -- one of the most fatal symptoms in yellow fever.
Black wash, Blackwash Black" wash`, Black"wash noun 1. (Medicine) A lotion made by mixing calomel and lime water. 2. A wash that blackens, as opposed to whitewash ; hence, figuratively, calumny. To remove as far as he can the modern layers of black wash , and let the man himself, fair or foul, be seen.
C. Kingsley.
Black-a-vised Black"-a-vised` adjective Dark-visaged; swart.
Black-browed Black"-browed` (blăk"broud`)
adjective Having black eyebrows. Hence: Gloomy; dismal; threatening; forbidding. Shak. Dryden.
Black-eyed Black"-eyed` adjective Having black eyes. Dryden.
Black-eyed Susan Black"-eyed` Su"san (Botany) (a) The coneflower, or yellow daisy ( Rudbeckia hirta ). (b) The bladder ketmie.
Black-faced Black"-faced` adjective Having a black, dark, or gloomy face or aspect.
Black-hearted Black"-heart`ed adjective Having a wicked, malignant disposition; morally bad.
Black-jack Black"-jack` noun 1. (Min.) A name given by English miners to sphalerite, or zinc blende; -- called also false galena . See Blende . 2. Caramel or burnt sugar, used to color wines, spirits, ground coffee, etc. 3. A large leather vessel for beer, etc. [ Obsolete]
4. (Botany) The Quercus nigra , or barren oak. 5. The ensign of a pirate.
Black-letter Black"-let`ter adjective 1. Written or printed in black letter; as, a black-letter manuscript or book. 2. Given to the study of books in black letter; that is, of old books; out of date. Kemble, a black-letter man!
J. Boaden.
3. Of or pertaining to the days in the calendar not marked with red letters as saints' days. Hence: Unlucky; inauspicious.
Black-mouthed Black"-mouthed` adjective Using foul or scurrilous language; slanderous.
Blackamoor Black"a·moor noun [
Black +
Moor .]
A negro or negress. Shak.
Blackball Black"ball` noun 1. A composition for blacking shoes, boots, etc.; also, one for taking impressions of engraved work. 2. A ball of black color, esp. one used as a negative in voting; -- in this sense usually two words.
Blackball Black"ball` transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blackballed ;
present participle & verbal noun Blackballing .]
1. To vote against, by putting a black ball into a ballot box; to reject or exclude, as by voting against with black balls; to ostracize. He was blackballed at two clubs in succession.
Thackeray.
2. To blacken (leather, shoes, etc.) with blacking.
Blackband Black"band` noun (Min.) An earthy carbonate of iron containing considerable carbonaceous matter; -- valuable as an iron ore.
Blackberry Black"ber·ry (blăk"bĕr*rȳ)
noun [ Middle English
blakberye , Anglo-Saxon
blęcberie ;
blęc black +
berie berry.]
The fruit of several species of bramble ( Rubus ); also, the plant itself. Rubus fruticosus is the blackberry of England; R. villosus and R. Canadensis are the high blackberry and low blackberry of the United States. There are also other kinds.
Blackbird Black"bird (blăk"bẽrd)
noun (Zoology) In England, a species of thrush ( Turdus merula ), a singing bird with a fin note; the merle. In America the name is given to several birds, as the Quiscalus versicolor , or crow blackbird; the Agelęus phœniceus , or red-winged blackbird; the cowbird; the rusty grackle, etc. See Redwing .
Blackbird Black"bird noun 1. Among slavers and pirates, a negro or Polynesian. [ Cant]
2. A native of any of the islands near Queensland; -- called also Kanaka . [ Australia]
Blackbirder Black"bird·er noun A slave ship; a slaver. [ Colloq.]
F. T. Bullen.
Blackbirding Black"bird·ing noun 1. The kidnaping of negroes or Polynesians to be sold as slaves. 2. The act or practice of collecting natives of the islands near Queensland for service on the Queensland sugar plantations. [ Australia]
Blackboard Black"board` (-bōrd`)
noun A broad board painted black, or any black surface on which writing, drawing, or the working of mathematical problems can be done with chalk or crayons. It is much used in schools.
Blackburnian warbler Black·bur"ni·an war"bler [ Named from Mrs. Blackburn , an English lady.] (Zoology) A beautiful warbler of the United States ( Dendroica Blackburnię ). The male is strongly marked with orange, yellow, and black on the head and neck, and has an orange-yellow breast.
Blackcap Black"cap` (-kăp`)
noun 1. (Zoology) (a) A small European song bird ( Sylvia atricapilla ), with a black crown; the mock nightingale. (b) An American titmouse ( Parus atricapillus ); the chickadee. 2. (Cookery) An apple roasted till black, to be served in a dish of boiled custard. 3. The black raspberry.
Blackcoat Black"coat` noun A clergyman; -- familiarly so called, as a soldier is sometimes called a redcoat or a bluecoat .
Blackcock Black"cock` noun (Zoology) The male of the European black grouse ( Tetrao tetrix , Linn.); - - so called by sportsmen. The female is called gray hen . See Heath grouse .
Blacken Black"en transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Blackened ;
present participle & verbal noun Blackening .] [ See
Black ,
adjective , and confer
Black ,
transitive verb ]
1. To make or render black. While the long funerals blacken all the way.
Pope.
2. To make dark; to darken; to cloud. "
Blackened the whole heavens."
South. 3. To defame; to sully, as reputation; to make infamous; as, vice blackens the character. Syn. -- To denigrate; defame; vilify; slander; calumniate; traduce; malign; asperse.
Blacken Black"en intransitive verb To grow black or dark.
Blackener Black"en·er noun One who blackens.
Blackfeet Black"feet` noun plural (Ethn.) A tribe of North American Indians formerly inhabiting the country from the upper Missouri River to the Saskatchewan, but now much reduced in numbers.
Blackfin Black"fin` noun (Zoology) See Bluefin .
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