Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Black \Black\, a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to Icel. blakkr
   dark, swarthy, Sw. bl["a]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. ?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.

            O night, with hue so black!           --Shak.

   2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
      darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
      heavens black with clouds.

            I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
                                                  --Shak.

   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.

   4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
      foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.

   Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
         as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
         black-visaged.

   {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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), the common American bear ({Ursus
      Americanus}).

   {Black beast}. See {B[^e]te noire}.

   {Black beetle} (Zo["o]l.), the common large cockroach
      ({Blatta orientalis}).

   {Black and blue}, the dark color of a bruise in the flesh,
      which is accompanied with a mixture of blue. ``To pinch
      the slatterns black and blue.'' --Hudibras.

   {Black bonnet} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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 fly}. (Zo["o]l.)
      (a) In the United States, a small, venomous, two-winged
          fly of the genus {Simulium} of several species,
          exceedingly abundant and troublesome in the northern
          forests. The larv[ae] are aquatic.
      (b) A black plant louse, as the bean aphis ({A. fab[ae]}).
          

   {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}. (Zo["o]l.) 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} (Zo["o]l.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
      ({Cycleptus elongatus}), of the sucker family; the
      Missouri sucker.

   {Black lemur} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), 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} (Zo["o]l.), an American hawk ({Buteo
      Harlani}).

   Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
        Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.

Black \Black\, adv.
   Sullenly; threateningly; maliciously; so as to produce
   blackness.

Black \Black\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Blacked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Blacking}.] [See {Black}, a., and cf. {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 \Black\, n.
   1. That which is destitute of light or whiteness; the darkest
      color, or rather a destitution of all color; as, a cloth
      has a good black.

            Black is the badge of hell, The hue of dungeons, and
            the suit of night.                    --Shak.

   2. A black pigment or dye.

   3. A negro; a person whose skin is of a black color, or
      shaded with black; esp. a member or descendant of certain
      African races.

   4. A black garment or dress; as, she wears black; pl. (Obs.)
      Mourning garments of a black color; funereal drapery.

            Friends weeping, and blacks, and obsequies, and the
            like show death terrible.             --Bacon.

            That was the full time they used to wear blacks for
            the death of their fathers.           --Sir T.
                                                  North.

   5. The part of a thing which is distinguished from the rest
      by being black.

            The black or sight of the eye.        --Sir K.
                                                  Digby.

   6. A stain; a spot; a smooch.

            Defiling her white lawn of chastity with ugly blacks
            of lust.                              --Rowley.

   {Black and white}, writing or print; as, I must have that
      statement in black and white.

   {Blue black}, a pigment of a blue black color.

   {Ivory black}, a fine kind of animal charcoal prepared by
      calcining ivory or bones. When ground it is the chief
      ingredient of the ink used in copperplate printing.

   {Berlin black}. See under {Berlin}.

Source : WordNet®

black
     adj 1: being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having
            little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all
            incident light; "black leather jackets"; "as black as
            coal"; "rich black soil" [syn: {achromatic}] [ant: {white}]
     2: of or belonging to a racial group having dark skin
        especially of sub-Saharan African origin; "a great
        people--a black people--...injected new meaning and
        dignity into the veins of civilization"- Martin Luther
        King Jr. [ant: {white}]
     3: marked by anger or resentment or hostility; "black looks";
        "black words"
     4: stemming from evil characteristics or forces; wicked or
        dishonorable; "black deeds"; "a black lie"; "his black
        heart has concocted yet another black deed"; "Darth Vader
        of the dark side"; "a dark purpose"; "dark undercurrents
        of ethnic hostility"; "the scheme of some sinister
        intelligence bent on punishing him"-Thomas Hardy [syn: {dark},
         {sinister}]
     5: offering little or no hope; "the future looked black";
        "prospects were bleak"; "Life in the Aran Islands has
        always been bleak and difficult"- J.M.Synge; "took a dim
        view of things" [syn: {bleak}, {dim}]
     6: (of events) having extremely unfortunate or dire
        consequences; bringing ruin; "the stock market crashed on
        Black Friday"; "a calamitous defeat"; "the battle was a
        disastrous end to a disastrous campaign"; "such doctrines,
        if true, would be absolutely fatal to my theory"- Charles
        Darwin; "it is fatal to enter any war without the will to
        win it"- Douglas MacArthur; "a fateful error" [syn: {calamitous},
         {disastrous}, {fatal}, {fateful}]
     7: (of the face) made black especially as with suffused blood;
        "a face black with fury" [syn: {blackened}]
     8: extremely dark; "a black moonless night"; "through the
        pitch-black woods"; "it was pitch-dark in the celler"
        [syn: {pitch-black}, {pitch-dark}]
     9: harshly ironic or sinister; "black humor"; "a grim joke";
        "grim laughter"; "fun ranging from slapstick clowning ...
        to savage mordant wit" [syn: {grim}, {mordant}]
     10: (of intelligence operations) deliberately misleading; "black
         propaganda"
     11: distributed or sold illicitly; "the black economy pays no
         taxes" [syn: {bootleg}, {black-market}, {contraband}, {smuggled}]
     12: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing
         disgrace or shame; "Man...has written one of his blackest
         records as a destroyer on the oceanic islands"- Rachel
         Carson; "an ignominious retreat"; "inglorious defeat";
         "an opprobrious monument to human greed"; "a shameful
         display of cowardice" [syn: {disgraceful}, {ignominious},
          {inglorious}, {opprobrious}, {shameful}]
     13: (of coffee) without cream or sugar
     14: dressed in black; "a black knight"; "black friars"
     15: soiled with dirt or soot; "with feet black from playing
         outdoors"; "his shirt was black within an hour"

black
     n 1: the quality or state of the achromatic color of least
          lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white) [syn:
           {blackness}] [ant: {white}]
     2: total absence of light; "they fumbled around in total
        darkness"; "in the black of night" [syn: {total darkness},
         {lightlessness}, {blackness}, {pitch blackness}]
     3: British chemist who identified carbon dioxide and who
        formulated the concepts of specific heat and latent heat
        (1728-1799) [syn: {Joseph Black}]
     4: popular child actress of the 1930's (born 1927) [syn: {Shirley
        Temple Black}, {Shirley Temple}]
     5: a person with dark skin who comes from Africa (or whose
        ancestors came from Africa) [syn: {Black person}, {blackamoor},
         {Negro}, {Negroid}]
     6: (board games) the darker pieces [ant: {white}]
     7: black clothing (worn as a sign of mourning); "the widow wore
        black"

black
     v : make or become black; "The smoke blackened the ceiling";
         "The ceiling blackened" [syn: {blacken}, {melanize}, {melanise},
          {nigrify}] [ant: {whiten}]