Black \Black\ (bl[a^]k), a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to
Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl[aum]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. [root]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.
[1913 Webster]
O night, with hue so black! --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
heavens black with clouds.
[1913 Webster]
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
black-visaged.
[1913 Webster]
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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), the common American bear ({Ursus
Americanus).
Black beast. See B[^e]te noire.
Black beetle (Zool.), the common large cockroach ({Blatta
orientalis).
Black bonnet (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 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. (Zool.) 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 (Zool.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
({Cycleptus elongatus), of the sucker family; the
Missouri sucker.
Black lemur (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), an American hawk ({Buteo Harlani).
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
black sheep
n 1: a reckless and unprincipled reprobate [syn: scapegrace]
2: sheep with a black coat
WordNet (r) 2.0
33 Moby Thesaurus words for "black sheep":
backslider, bad egg, bad lot, blemish, degenerate, fallen angel,
foreign body, foreign intruder, impurity, intruder, lecher,
lost sheep, lost soul, miscreant, misfit, monkey wrench, mote,
oddball, pervert, pimp, profligate, recidivist, recreant,
reprobate, scapegrace, sliver, sorry lot, speck, splinter, stone,
trollop, weed, whore
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
|
|
|