"Black" meaning in English

See Black in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

Audio: En-Black.ogg
Etymology: Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns. Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} Black (not comparable)
  1. (chiefly Canada, US, often UK) Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”). Tags: Canada, UK, US, alt-of, not-comparable, often Alternative form of: black (extra: of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin) Derived forms: Black fatigue
    Sense id: en-Black-en-adj-FWVosOlI Categories (other): American English, British English, Canadian English
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Proper name

Audio: En-Black.ogg Forms: Blacks [plural]
Etymology: From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”). Etymology templates: {{inh|en|enm|blak||black}} Middle English blak (“black”), {{inh|en|ang|blāc||pale}} Old English blāc (“pale”), {{der|en|fro|blanc||white}} Old French blanc (“white”) Head templates: {{en-proper noun|~|Blacks}} Black (countable and uncountable, plural Blacks)
  1. A surname transferred from the nickname. Tags: countable, uncountable
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-su1yiRXa Categories (other): English surnames
  2. A number of places in the United States:
    A town in Geneva County, Alabama.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in Alabama, USA, Places in the United States, Towns in Alabama, USA, Towns in the United States
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-tF0LiamC Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 3 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2 Disambiguation of Pages with 3 entries: 3 3 23 8 22 21 9 10 1 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 2 25 7 24 23 8 7 1
  3. A number of places in the United States:
    An unincorporated community in Edwards County, Illinois.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in Illinois, USA, Places in the United States, Unincorporated communities in Illinois, USA
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-AgFDFuMM
  4. A number of places in the United States:
    A township in Posey County, Indiana; from the surname.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in Indiana, USA, Places in the United States
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-Z~ngLdun Categories (other): Townships, English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 3 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2 Disambiguation of Pages with 3 entries: 3 3 23 8 22 21 9 10 1 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 2 25 7 24 23 8 7 1
  5. A number of places in the United States:
    An unincorporated community in Reynolds County, Missouri.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in Missouri, USA, Places in the United States, Unincorporated communities in Missouri, USA
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-j5AKvONU Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 3 entries, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2 Disambiguation of Pages with 3 entries: 3 3 23 8 22 21 9 10 1 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 2 25 7 24 23 8 7 1
  6. A number of places in the United States:
    A township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania; from the surname.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in Pennsylvania, USA, Places in the United States
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-wmK4QgO1 Categories (other): Townships
  7. A number of places in the United States:
    An unincorporated community in Mercer County and Wyoming County, West Virginia.
    Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (place): Places in West Virginia, USA, Places in the United States, Unincorporated communities in West Virginia, USA
    Sense id: en-Black-en-name-P6A-a606
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: Blackian
Etymology number: 1

Noun

Audio: En-Black.ogg Forms: Blacks [plural]
Etymology: Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns. Head templates: {{en-noun}} Black (plural Blacks)
  1. Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”). Tags: alt-of Alternative form of: black (extra: person having dark pigmentation of the skin) Derived forms: Black liberation
    Sense id: en-Black-en-noun-qcQgCLKX
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Inflected forms

{
  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "Blackian"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blak",
        "4": "",
        "5": "black"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English blak (“black”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "blāc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "pale"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English blāc (“pale”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "blanc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "white"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French blanc (“white”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Blacks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~",
        "2": "Blacks"
      },
      "expansion": "Black (countable and uncountable, plural Blacks)",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English surnames",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname transferred from the nickname."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-su1yiRXa",
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Alabama, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in Alabama, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Towns in Alabama, USA",
          "orig": "en:Towns in Alabama, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Towns",
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
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          "orig": "en:Towns in the United States",
          "parents": [
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          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 3 23 8 22 21 9 10 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 3 entries",
          "parents": [],
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        {
          "_dis": "3 2 25 7 24 23 8 7 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A town in Geneva County, Alabama."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-tF0LiamC",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "town",
          "town"
        ],
        [
          "Geneva County",
          "Geneva County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Alabama",
          "Alabama#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Illinois, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in Illinois, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Unincorporated communities in Illinois, USA",
          "orig": "en:Unincorporated communities in Illinois, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Unincorporated communities",
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Edwards County, Illinois."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-AgFDFuMM",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Edwards County",
          "Edwards County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Illinois",
          "Illinois#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Indiana, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in Indiana, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Townships",
          "orig": "en:Townships",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 3 23 8 22 21 9 10 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 3 entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "3 2 25 7 24 23 8 7 1",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A township in Posey County, Indiana; from the surname."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-Z~ngLdun",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "township",
          "township"
        ],
        [
          "Posey County",
          "Posey County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Indiana",
          "Indiana#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Missouri, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in Missouri, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Unincorporated communities in Missouri, USA",
          "orig": "en:Unincorporated communities in Missouri, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Unincorporated communities",
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "4 2 24 7 24 23 7 7 2",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
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        {
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          "kind": "other",
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        {
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          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Reynolds County, Missouri."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-j5AKvONU",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Reynolds County",
          "Reynolds County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Missouri",
          "Missouri#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in Pennsylvania, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in Pennsylvania, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Townships",
          "orig": "en:Townships",
          "parents": [],
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        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania; from the surname."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-wmK4QgO1",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "township",
          "township"
        ],
        [
          "Somerset County",
          "Somerset County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Pennsylvania",
          "Pennsylvania#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in West Virginia, USA",
          "orig": "en:Places in West Virginia, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Places in the United States",
          "orig": "en:Places in the United States",
          "parents": [
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          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "place",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Unincorporated communities in West Virginia, USA",
          "orig": "en:Unincorporated communities in West Virginia, USA",
          "parents": [
            "Unincorporated communities",
            "Places"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Mercer County and Wyoming County, West Virginia."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-name-P6A-a606",
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Mercer County",
          "Mercer County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Wyoming County",
          "Wyoming County#English"
        ],
        [
          "West Virginia",
          "West Virginia#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-Black.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/En-Black.ogg/En-Black.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/En-Black.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "Black"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns.",
  "head_templates": [
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
          "extra": "of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin",
          "word": "black"
        }
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        {
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Canadian English",
          "parents": [],
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        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "Black fatigue"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              140,
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            ],
            [
              228,
              233
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1973, Huey P. Newton, J. Herman Blake, Revolutionary Suicide, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 3:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
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        {
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            [
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            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1986, Chaya Shalom, “The only dyke from Israel”, in Off Our Backs, volume 16, number 8, →JSTOR, page 26:",
          "text": "A group of Black women came in later but only observed from the sidelines.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              93,
              98
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1999, Geoffrey K. Pullum, “African American Vernacular English Is Not Standard English with Mistakes”, in Rebecca S. Wheeler, editor, The Workings of Language, →ISBN, page 40:",
          "text": "Buried among the jargon of the announcement was a mention of a name for AAVE, suggested by a Black scholar in 1975^([sic]) but never adopted by linguists: Ebonics. That word, concocted from ebony (a color term from the name of a dark-colored wood) and phonics (the name of a method for teaching reading), was destined to attach to the board as if chiseled into a block of granite and hung round their necks.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              153,
              158
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020 May 31, “Violence, destruction mar Seattle protests over the death of George Floyd”, in The Seattle Times, page A1:",
          "text": "Hundreds of Seattle protesters came together Saturday to voice the sadness and fury that has spread across the country over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after being pinned beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer for almost nine minutes.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
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          "ref": "2022 May 2, Zachary Goldberg, “Explaining Shifts in White Racial Liberalism: The Role of Collective Moral Emotions and Media Effects”, in Georgia State University, archived from the original on 2025-01-25, page 98:",
          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-adj-FWVosOlI",
      "links": [
        [
          "Canada",
          "Canada"
        ],
        [
          "US",
          "American English"
        ],
        [
          "black",
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        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly Canada, US, often UK) Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "UK",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
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  "word": "Black"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Blacks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Black (plural Blacks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "person having dark pigmentation of the skin",
          "word": "black"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "derived": [
        {
          "word": "Black liberation"
        }
      ],
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          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "id": "en-Black-en-noun-qcQgCLKX",
      "links": [
        [
          "black",
          "black#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "alt-of"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "audio": "En-Black.ogg",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/En-Black.ogg"
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  "word": "Black"
}
{
  "categories": [
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English proper nouns",
    "English terms derived from Middle English",
    "English terms derived from Old English",
    "English terms derived from Old French",
    "English terms inherited from Middle English",
    "English terms inherited from Old English",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Blackian"
    }
  ],
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  "etymology_templates": [
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      "args": {
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        "2": "enm",
        "3": "blak",
        "4": "",
        "5": "black"
      },
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      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "blāc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "pale"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English blāc (“pale”)",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "blanc",
        "4": "",
        "5": "white"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French blanc (“white”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "From Middle English blak (“black”). Also a variant of Blake, from Old English blāc (“pale”) and Blanc, from Old French blanc (“white”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Blacks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~",
        "2": "Blacks"
      },
      "expansion": "Black (countable and uncountable, plural Blacks)",
      "name": "en-proper noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "name",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English surnames",
        "English surnames from nicknames"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A surname transferred from the nickname."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surname",
          "surname"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in Alabama, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Towns in Alabama, USA",
        "en:Towns in the United States"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A town in Geneva County, Alabama."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "town",
          "town"
        ],
        [
          "Geneva County",
          "Geneva County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Alabama",
          "Alabama#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in Illinois, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Unincorporated communities in Illinois, USA"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Edwards County, Illinois."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Edwards County",
          "Edwards County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Illinois",
          "Illinois#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in Indiana, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Townships"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A township in Posey County, Indiana; from the surname."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "township",
          "township"
        ],
        [
          "Posey County",
          "Posey County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Indiana",
          "Indiana#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in Missouri, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Unincorporated communities in Missouri, USA"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Reynolds County, Missouri."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Reynolds County",
          "Reynolds County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Missouri",
          "Missouri#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in Pennsylvania, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Townships"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "A township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania; from the surname."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "township",
          "township"
        ],
        [
          "Somerset County",
          "Somerset County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Pennsylvania",
          "Pennsylvania#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "en:Places in West Virginia, USA",
        "en:Places in the United States",
        "en:Unincorporated communities in West Virginia, USA"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A number of places in the United States:",
        "An unincorporated community in Mercer County and Wyoming County, West Virginia."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "United States",
          "United States#English"
        ],
        [
          "unincorporated community",
          "unincorporated community"
        ],
        [
          "Mercer County",
          "Mercer County#English"
        ],
        [
          "Wyoming County",
          "Wyoming County#English"
        ],
        [
          "West Virginia",
          "West Virginia#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-Black.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/8/8a/En-Black.ogg/En-Black.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/En-Black.ogg"
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  ],
  "word": "Black"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English adjectives",
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Black fatigue"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Black (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin",
          "word": "black"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "British English",
        "Canadian English",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              145
            ],
            [
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              233
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1973, Huey P. Newton, J. Herman Blake, Revolutionary Suicide, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, →ISBN, page 3:",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              16
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1986, Chaya Shalom, “The only dyke from Israel”, in Off Our Backs, volume 16, number 8, →JSTOR, page 26:",
          "text": "A group of Black women came in later but only observed from the sidelines.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              93,
              98
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1999, Geoffrey K. Pullum, “African American Vernacular English Is Not Standard English with Mistakes”, in Rebecca S. Wheeler, editor, The Workings of Language, →ISBN, page 40:",
          "text": "Buried among the jargon of the announcement was a mention of a name for AAVE, suggested by a Black scholar in 1975^([sic]) but never adopted by linguists: Ebonics. That word, concocted from ebony (a color term from the name of a dark-colored wood) and phonics (the name of a method for teaching reading), was destined to attach to the board as if chiseled into a block of granite and hung round their necks.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              153,
              158
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2020 May 31, “Violence, destruction mar Seattle protests over the death of George Floyd”, in The Seattle Times, page A1:",
          "text": "Hundreds of Seattle protesters came together Saturday to voice the sadness and fury that has spread across the country over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after being pinned beneath the knee of a Minneapolis police officer for almost nine minutes.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              174,
              179
            ],
            [
              197,
              202
            ],
            [
              231,
              236
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "2022 May 2, Zachary Goldberg, “Explaining Shifts in White Racial Liberalism: The Role of Collective Moral Emotions and Media Effects”, in Georgia State University, archived from the original on 2025-01-25, page 98:",
          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Canada",
          "Canada"
        ],
        [
          "US",
          "American English"
        ],
        [
          "black",
          "black#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(chiefly Canada, US, often UK) Alternative letter-case form of black (“of or relating to any of various ethnic groups having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Canada",
        "UK",
        "US",
        "alt-of",
        "not-comparable",
        "often"
      ]
    }
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  "sounds": [
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  "word": "Black"
}

{
  "categories": [
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    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English uncomparable adjectives",
    "Pages with 3 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "Black liberation"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Capitalized due to this racial sense's connotation of (current or historical) European origin, so as to follow the capitalization rules for nationalities and ethne, known in former centuries as “races” (e.g., “the Arab race”, “the Zulu race”), and also, perhaps, as a way to explicitly distinguish it from the color sense, which is never capitalized outside proper nouns.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "Blacks",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
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      "args": {},
      "expansion": "Black (plural Blacks)",
      "name": "en-noun"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
          "extra": "person having dark pigmentation of the skin",
          "word": "black"
        }
      ],
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        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
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            ]
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          "ref": "2022 May 2, Zachary Goldberg, “Explaining Shifts in White Racial Liberalism: The Role of Collective Moral Emotions and Media Effects”, in Georgia State University, archived from the original on 2025-01-25, page 98:",
          "text": "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.”",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Alternative letter-case form of black (“person having dark pigmentation of the skin”)."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
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          "black#English"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
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      ]
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      "audio": "En-Black.ogg",
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      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/En-Black.ogg"
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  ],
  "word": "Black"
}

Download raw JSONL data for Black meaning in English (10.9kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-20 using wiktextract (3dadd05 and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.