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Blackness

//ˈblæknəs// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A suburb of Dundee, City of Dundee council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NO3830).
  2. 2
    A small coastal village in Falkirk council area, Scotland; a nearby headland is named Black Ness (OS grid ref NT0580).
  3. 3
    A hamlet in Westham parish, Wealden district, East Sussex, England (OS grid ref TQ6104).
  4. 4
    A suburb of Crowborough, Wealden district, East Sussex (OS grid ref TQ5230).
Noun
  1. 1
    The state or quality of being black in colour. uncountable, usually

    "The blackness of outer space comes from the lack of anything to reflect light rather than the absence of light."

  2. 2
    Alternative letter-case form of blackness (“state of being of African descent; culture of African-Americans”). alt-of, uncountable

    "It is Blackless, hence it shares that very quality, Blacklessness, with Whiteness; and it is Whiteless, hence it shares Whitelessness with Blackness."

  3. 3
    the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white) wordnet
  4. 4
    Any space that such colour pervades. uncountable, usually

    "Out of the blackness came some flickers of light."

  5. 5
    total absence of light wordnet
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    Darkness, gloominess; depression. figuratively, uncountable, usually
  2. 7
    The quality of being evil or dismal. figuratively, uncountable, usually

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

  3. 8
    The state of being of African descent. uncountable, usually

    "“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."

  4. 9
    The experiences and culture of African-American people. uncountable, usually

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.

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