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blackness

noun
/ˈblæknəs/US

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English blaknesse, equivalent to black + -ness. Sense 5 most likely both originated from the masque The Masque of Blackness by Ben Jonson and later changed to its current positive sense.

  1. inherited from blaknesse

Definitions

  1. The state or quality of being black in colour.

    • The blackness of outer space comes from the lack of anything to reflect light rather than the absence of light.
    • The lights of Luluabourg disappeared, and we were in the blackness of the African night, which was continuously pierced by the showers of red sparks ejected skywards and red hot ashes deposited on the track as the fireman rocked his fire.

  2. Any space that such colour pervades.

    • Out of the blackness came some flickers of light.
    • The guest room was full of the noise of the rain falling on fragrant branches in the framed blackness of the open window.

  3. Darkness, gloominess

    Darkness, gloominess; depression.

  4. ›+ 8 more definitions

    1. The quality of being evil or dismal.

      • She had seen so much of the blacker side of human nature that blackness no longer startled her as it should do.

    2. The state of being of African descent.

      • “Black Panther” is a stunning visual and cultural achievement that takes superhero cinema where it’s never gone before by not being afraid to embrace its blackness.

    3. The experiences and culture of African-American people.

    4. A suburb of Dundee, City of Dundee council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO3830).

    5. A small coastal village in Falkirk council area, Scotland

      A small coastal village in Falkirk council area, Scotland; a nearby headland is named Black Ness (OS grid ref NT0580).

    6. A hamlet in Westham parish, Wealden district, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ6104).

    7. A suburb of Crowborough, Wealden district, East Sussex (OS grid ref TQ5230).

    8. Alternative letter-case form of blackness (“state of being of African descent

      Alternative letter-case form of blackness (“state of being of African descent; culture of African-Americans”).

      • It is Blackless, hence it shares that very quality, Blacklessness, with Whiteness; and it is Whiteless, hence it shares Whitelessness with Blackness.
      • Describes a person or thing that is authentic, the height of something, according to the authentic, natural, ‘keepin-it-real’ standards of Blackness that are believed to exist in ghetto communities. Also ghetto fab.
      • It is a question of 'what we invest ourselves in' (Grosz 1995, 184) and how people live Blackness, Whiteness, Azerbaijaniness, Germanness, femaleness or maleness.

The neighborhood

Derived

antiblackness, blackness studies, pitch blackness, pitch-blackness, political blackness, postblackness, problackness

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for blackness. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA