from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Flag \Flag\, n. [Cf. LG. & G. flagge, Sw. flagg, Dan. flag, D.
vlag. See {Flag} to hang loose.]
1. That which flags or hangs down loosely.
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2. A cloth usually bearing a device or devices and used to
indicate nationality, party, etc., or to give or ask
information; -- commonly attached to a staff to be waved
by the wind; a standard; a banner; an ensign; the colors;
as, the national flag; a military or a naval flag.
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3. (Zool.)
(a) A group of feathers on the lower part of the legs of
certain hawks, owls, etc.
(b) A group of elongated wing feathers in certain hawks.
(c) The bushy tail of a dog, as of a setter.
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4. (Zool.) One of the wing feathers next the body of a bird;
-- called also {flag feather}.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
{Black flag}. See under {Black}.
{Flag captain}, {Flag leutenant}, etc., special officers
attached to the flagship, as aids to the flag officer.
{Flag officer}, the commander of a fleet or squadron; an
admiral, or commodore.
{Flag of truse}, a white flag carried or displayed to an
enemy, as an invitation to conference, or for the purpose
of making some communication not hostile.
{Flag share}, the flag officer's share of prize money.
{Flag station} (Railroad), a station at which trains do not
stop unless signaled to do so, by a flag hung out or
waved.
{National flag}, a flag of a particular country, on which
some national emblem or device, is emblazoned.
{Red flag}, a flag of a red color, displayed as a signal of
danger or token of defiance; the emblem of anarchists.
{To dip, the flag}, to mlower it and quickly restore it to
its place; -- done as a mark of respect.
{To hang out the white flag}, to ask truce or quarter, or, in
some cases, to manifest a friendly design by exhibiting a
white flag.
{To hang the flag half-mast high} or {To hang the flag
half-staff} or {To hang the flag at half-staff}, to raise it
only half way to the mast or staff, as a token or sign of
mourning.
{To strike the flag} or {To lower the flag}, to haul it down,
in token of respect, submission, or, in an engagement, of
surrender.
{Yellow flag}, the quarantine flag of all nations; also
carried at a vessel's fore, to denote that an infectious
disease is on board.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Black \Black\ (bl[a^]k), a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to
Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl[aum]ck ink, Dan. bl[ae]k,
OHG. blach, LG. & D. blaken to burn with a black smoke. Not
akin to AS. bl[=a]c, E. bleak pallid. [root]98.]
1. Destitute of light, or incapable of reflecting it; of the
color of soot or coal; of the darkest or a very dark
color, the opposite of {white}; characterized by such a
color; as, black cloth; black hair or eyes.
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O night, with hue so black! --Shak.
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2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
heavens black with clouds.
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I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
--Shak.
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3. Fig.: Dismal, gloomy, or forbidding, like darkness;
destitute of moral light or goodness; atrociously wicked;
cruel; mournful; calamitous; horrible. "This day's black
fate." "Black villainy." "Arise, black vengeance." "Black
day." "Black despair." --Shak.
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4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
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Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
black-visaged.
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{Black act}, the English statute 9 George I, which makes it a
felony to appear armed in any park or warren, etc., or to
hunt or steal deer, etc., with the face blackened or
disguised. Subsequent acts inflicting heavy penalties for
malicious injuries to cattle and machinery have been
called black acts.
{Black angel} (Zool.), a fish of the West Indies and Florida
({Holacanthus tricolor}), with the head and tail yellow,
and the middle of the body black.
{Black antimony} (Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony,
{Sb2S3}, used in pyrotechnics, etc.
{Black bear} (Zool.), the common American bear ({Ursus
Americanus}).
{Black beast}. See {B[^e]te noire}.
{Black beetle} (Zool.), the common large cockroach ({Blatta
orientalis}).
{Black bonnet} (Zool.), the black-headed bunting ({Embriza
Sch[oe]niclus}) of Europe.
{Black canker}, a disease in turnips and other crops,
produced by a species of caterpillar.
{Black cat} (Zool.), the fisher, a quadruped of North America
allied to the sable, but larger. See {Fisher}.
{Black cattle}, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in
distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.]
{Black cherry}. See under {Cherry}.
{Black cockatoo} (Zool.), the palm cockatoo. See {Cockatoo}.
{Black copper}. Same as {Melaconite}.
{Black currant}. (Bot.) See {Currant}.
{Black diamond}. (Min.) See {Carbonado}.
{Black draught} (Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of
senna and magnesia.
{Black drop} (Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation
consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar.
{Black earth}, mold; earth of a dark color. --Woodward.
{Black flag}, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a
skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance.
{Black flea} (Zool.), a flea beetle ({Haltica nemorum})
injurious to turnips.
{Black flux}, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal,
obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of
niter. --Brande & C.
{Black Forest} [a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in
Baden and W["u]rtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient
Hercynian forest.
{Black game}, or {Black grouse}. (Zool.) See {Blackcock},
{Grouse}, and {Heath grouse}.
{Black grass} (Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species {Juncus
Gerardi}, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay.
{Black gum} (Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or
pepperidge. See {Tupelo}.
{Black Hamburg (grape)} (Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of
dark purple or "black" grape.
{Black horse} (Zool.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
({Cycleptus elongatus}), of the sucker family; the
Missouri sucker.
{Black lemur} (Zool.), the {Lemurniger} of Madagascar; the
{acoumbo} of the natives.
{Black list}, a list of persons who are for some reason
thought deserving of censure or punishment; -- esp. a list
of persons stigmatized as insolvent or untrustworthy, made
for the protection of tradesmen or employers. See
{Blacklist}, v. t.
{Black manganese} (Chem.), the black oxide of manganese,
{MnO2}.
{Black Maria}, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried
to or from jail.
{Black martin} (Zool.), the chimney swift. See {Swift}.
{Black moss} (Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the
southern United States. See {Tillandsia}.
{Black oak}. See under {Oak}.
{Black ocher}. See {Wad}.
{Black pigment}, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance,
or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of
printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar.
{Black plate}, sheet iron before it is tinned. --Knight.
{Black quarter}, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a
shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox.
{Black rat} (Zool.), one of the species of rats ({Mus
rattus}), commonly infesting houses.
{Black rent}. See {Blackmail}, n., 3.
{Black rust}, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist
matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain.
{Black sheep}, one in a family or company who is unlike the
rest, and makes trouble.
{Black silver}. (Min.) See under {Silver}.
{Black and tan}, black mixed or spotted with tan color or
reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of
dogs.
{Black tea}. See under {Tea}.
{Black tin} (Mining), tin ore (cassiterite), when dressed,
stamped and washed, ready for smelting. It is in the form
of a black powder, like fine sand. --Knight.
{Black walnut}. See under {Walnut}.
{Black warrior} (Zool.), an American hawk ({Buteo Harlani}).
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Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
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