blackness
/ˈblæknəs/ noun, proper noun
Forms blacknesses blacknesse
- noun 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.”
- noun Any space that such colour pervades. “Out of the blackness came some flickers of light.”
- noun (figurative) Darkness, gloominess; depression.
- noun (figurative) The quality of being evil or dismal.
- noun The state of being of African descent.
- noun The experiences and culture of Black people.
- proper noun A suburb of Dundee, City of Dundee council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO3830).
- proper noun A small coastal village in Falkirk council area, Scotland; a nearby headland is named Black Ness (OS grid ref NT0580).
- proper noun A hamlet in Westham parish, Wealden district, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ6104).
- proper noun A suburb of Crowborough, Wealden district, East Sussex (OS grid ref TQ5230).
Synonyms
Antonyms
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.
From Black + -ness.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The quality or state of being black; black color; atrociousness or enormity in wickedness.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blackness”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details