black
verb
- to make black, blacken
- illegal
noun
- eye color
- the color black
adjective
- darkest color
- illegal, pertaining to the black market or criminality
- morbid, depressive, evil, macabre, dark
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /blæk/
adj
Etymology: Capitalized to follow the usual capitalization patterns for ethnic groups (compare e.g. Hispanic, Arab), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is not capitalized outside proper nouns.
- Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”).
“It contained an article written by Lacy Banko summarizing the work of Dr. Herbert Hendin, who had done a comparative study on suicide among Black people in the major American cities. Dr. Hendin found that the suicide rate among Black men between the ages of nineteen and thirty-five had doubled in the past ten to fifteen years, surpassing the rate for whites in the same age range.”
“A group of Black women came in later but only observed from the sidelines.”
name
Etymology: From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”).
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
- A number of places in the United States:
- A number of places in the United States:
- A number of places in the United States:
- A number of places in the United States:
- A number of places in the United States:
- A number of places in the United States:
noun
Etymology: Capitalized to follow the usual capitalization patterns for ethnic groups (compare e.g. Hispanic, Arab), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is not capitalized outside proper nouns.
- Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”).
“By 2016, however, a divide that started appearing in the preceding few years came into full relief—that year, 29% of nonwhite liberals (28% of nonwhite Democrats) and 38% of Black liberals (34% of Black Democrats), disagreed that “Blacks should work their way up without special favors.””
- The player moving the black pieces.
“Unless the arbiter decides otherwise, ranks from White to Black shall be given the German numbers.”
verb
Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *blakaz Proto-West Germanic *blak Old English blæc Middle English blak English black From Middle English blak, black, blake, from Old English blæc (“black, dark", also "ink”), from Proto-West Germanic *blak, from Proto-Germanic *blakaz (“burnt”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleg- (“to burn, shine”). See also Dutch blaken (“to burn”), Low German blak, black (“blackness, black paint, (black) ink”), Old High German blah (“black”); also compare Latin flagrāre (“to burn”), Ancient Greek φλόξ (phlóx, “flame”), Sanskrit भर्ग (bharga, “radiance”). Adjective sense 20 is a semantic loan from Cantonese 黑面 (hak1 min6, “to pull a long face, to scowl”).
- To make black; to blacken.
“"I don't want to fight; but you are a mean, dirty blackguard, or you wouldn't have treated a girl like that," replied Tommy, standing as stiff as a stake before the bully. "Say that again, and I'll black your eye for you."”
“Ted, you can black your face, and dye your hair, and squint, and some fine day, sooner or later, somebody'll come along and blab the whole thing.”
- To apply blacking to (something).
“[…] he must catch, curry, and saddle his own horse; he must black his own brogans (for he will not be able to buy boots).”
“But in a moment he went to Greenidge's bedside, and said, shyly, in a low voice, "Shall I black your boots for you?"”
- To boycott, usually as part of an industrial dispute.
“The plants were blacked by the Transport and General Workers' Union and a consumer boycott was organised; both activities contributed to what the union saw as a victory.”