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black [[t]blæk[/t]] adj. black•er, black•est,

1) lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays composing it

2) characterized by absence of light; enveloped in darkness:

a black night[/ex]

3) pan (sometimes cap.)

a) pertaining or belonging to any of the various populations having dark skin pigmentation, specifically the dark-skinned peoples of Africa, Oceania, and Australia

b) African-American 2)

4) soiled or stained with dirt

5) gloomy; pessimistic; dismal:

a black future[/ex]

6) sullen or hostile:

black words[/ex]

7) coo (of coffee or tea) served without milk or cream

8) harmful, evil, or wicked:

a black heart[/ex]

9) indicating censure, disgrace, etc.:

a black mark on one's record[/ex]

10) marked by disaster or misfortune:

black areas of drought[/ex]

11) wearing black or dark clothing or armor:

the black prince[/ex]

12) lit. morbidly or grimly satirical:

black comedy[/ex]

13) cvs secret; covert:

a black program to rebuild air defenses[/ex]

14) phs opt the color at one end of the gray scale, opposite to white, absorbing all wavelengths of light

15) pan (sometimes cap.)

a) a member of any of various dark-skinned peoples, esp. those of Africa, Oceania, and Australia

b) African-American 1)

16) black clothing, esp. as a sign of mourning

17) chs the dark-colored pieces or squares in checkers or chess

18) black pigment:

lamp black[/ex]

19) dch a type or breed that is black in color

20) to make black; put black on; blacken

21) to polish (shoes, boots, etc.) with blacking

22) to become black; take on a black color; blacken

23) phv black out

a) to lose consciousness or memory temporarily

b) to obliterate or suppress

c) sbz to extinguish (all the stage lights)

d) to make or become inoperable

e) to obscure by concealing all light in defense against air raids

f) sbz to impose a broadcast blackout on (an area)

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- in black and white in the black

Etymology: bef. 900; ME; OE blæc, c. OHG blah-; akin to ON blakkr black, blek ink black′ish,adj. usage: Black, colored, and Negro have all been used to describe or name the dark-skinned African peoples or their descendants. colored, now somewhat old-fashioned, is usu. offensive. It is still used, however, in the title of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The term colored is also used among blacks to refer to another black who acts as if he or she were superior. In the late 1950s black began to replace Negro and is still widely used and accepted, whereas Negro is not. Common as both adjective and noun, black is usu. not capitalized except in proper names or titles (Black Muslim; Black English). However, members of the African-American community have expressed a strong preference for use of capital “B” for both the noun and the adjective, to parallel the names of other ethnic groups. African-American, urged by leaders in the American black community, is now widely used in both print and speech, esp. as a term of self-reference. Afro-American is accepted but less widely used, mostly as an adjective.