black

A1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /blæk/ UK /blæk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like block /æ/ vs /ɑ/ Sounds like bloc /æ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #540

Meanings

1

adj
Of the darkest colour, like the night sky with no light.

She wore a long black dress to the party.
2

adj
Belonging to a group of people with dark skin, especially of African origin.

The film celebrates the achievements of Black writers.
3

adj
Offering little or no hope; very sad or gloomy.

After the bad news, the future looked black.
4

adj
Bought or sold illegally.

They sold the goods on the black market.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · of the darkest colour, like... pitch-black

3 adj · offering little or no hope;... bleak dim

4 adj · bought or sold illegally. black-marketcontraband

More atramentalatramentousebon inky jetty negronigrousobsidianpitch-darkpitchy raven

Opposites

white

Word family

Forms blackedblackerblackestblackingblackishblacklyblacks

Derived forms anti-blackantiblackbible-blackblaccentblack-and-tanblack-and-whiteblack-assedblack-bagblack-bottomblack-cladblack-coatedblack-collar

Related forms achromatic blackamoor blackavised blackberry blackbird blackenblackieblacknessblackycalamandercharcoalchernozem

Appears in

Phrases (10)

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black coffee
coffee served without milk or cream

Adjective + noun
black ice
a thin, nearly transparent and invisible layer of ice that forms on road surfaces and is extremely dangerous

Adjective + noun
black magic
the use of supernatural powers for evil or harmful purposes

Adjective + noun
black currant
a small dark berry with a strong sharp flavor, used in jam and drinks

Adjective + noun
black rhinoceros
a large African rhinoceros with two horns, belonging to a species threatened with extinction

Adjective + noun
black smoke
dark smoke produced when fuel or other material burns

Adjective + noun

Idioms (1)

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pot calling the kettle black
criticizing someone for a fault you share

Proverbs (5)

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Tongue twisters (1)

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Black Bugs
Black bugs’ blood.

Keep /bl/ together in black and blood. The /ɡz/ ending of bugs must lead into the next /b/ without an added vowel.

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…

blak Middle English blæc Old English *blak Proto-West Germanic *blakaz Proto-Germanic *bʰleg- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# black

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /blæk/
**IPA (UK):** /blæk/
**Frequency rank:** 540

## Meanings
1. Of the darkest colour, like the night sky with no light.
2. Belonging to a group of people with dark skin, especially of African origin.
3. Offering little or no hope; very sad or gloomy.
4. Bought or sold illegally.

## Examples
- She wore a long black dress to the party.
- The film celebrates the achievements of Black writers.
- After the bad news, the future looked black.
- They sold the goods on the black market.

## Synonyms
- atramental
- atramentous
- ebon
- inky
- jetty
- negro
- nigrous
- obsidian
- pitch-black
- pitch-dark
- pitchy
- raven

## Antonyms
- white

## Derived Forms
- anti-black
- antiblack
- bible-black
- blaccent
- black-and-tan
- black-and-white
- black-assed
- black-bag
- black-bottom
- black-clad
- black-coated
- black-collar

## Related Forms
- achromatic
- blackamoor
- blackavised
- blackberry
- blackbird
- blacken
- blackie
- blackness
- blacky
- calamander
- charcoal
- chernozem

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: blak
- Root: blæc
- Root: *blak
- Root: *blakaz
- Root: *bʰleg-

## 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…

## AI Etymology
Black comes 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”). Black follows a historical chain through Proto-Germanic *blakaz, Proto-West Germanic *blak, Old English blæc, Middle English blak, English black.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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black

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (10)

Idioms (1)

Proverbs (5)

Tongue twisters (1)

Etymology

Topics

External links

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