Found 2 items, similar to Black flag.
English → English
Definition: black flag
n : a black flag bearing a white skull and crossbones; indicates
a pirate ship [syn: pirate flag
, Jolly Roger
English → English
Definition: Black flag
(bl[a^]k), a. [OE. blak, AS. bl[ae]c; akin to
Icel. blakkr dark, swarthy, Sw. bl["a]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.
O night, with hue so black! --Shak.
2. In a less literal sense: Enveloped or shrouded in
darkness; very dark or gloomy; as, a black night; the
heavens black with clouds.
I spy a black, suspicious, threatening cloud.
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.”
4. Expressing menace, or discontent; threatening; sullen;
foreboding; as, to regard one with black looks.
Note: Black is often used in self-explaining compound words;
as, black-eyed, black-faced, black-haired,
, 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.
(Zo["o]l.), a fish of the West Indies and
Florida (Holacanthus tricolor
), with the head and tail
yellow, and the middle of the body black.
(Chem.), the black sulphide of antimony,
, used in pyrotechnics, etc.
(Zo["o]l.), the common American bear (Ursus Americanus
. See B[^e]te noire
(Zo["o]l.), the common large cockroach
(Zo["o]l.), the black-headed bunting (Embriza Sch[oe]niclus
) of Europe.
, a disease in turnips and other crops,
produced by a species of caterpillar.
(Zo["o]l.), the fisher, a quadruped of North
America allied to the sable, but larger. See Fisher
, any bovine cattle reared for slaughter, in
distinction from dairy cattle. [Eng.]
. See under Cherry
(Zo["o]l.), the palm cockatoo. See
. Same as Melaconite
. (Bot.) See Currant
. (Min.) See Carbonado
(Med.), a cathartic medicine, composed of
senna and magnesia.
(Med.), vinegar of opium; a narcotic preparation
consisting essentially of a solution of opium in vinegar.
, mold; earth of a dark color. --Woodward.
, the flag of a pirate, often bearing in white a
skull and crossbones; a signal of defiance.
(Zo["o]l.), a flea beetle (Haltica nemorum
injurious to turnips.
, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal,
obtained by deflagrating tartar with half its weight of
niter. --Brande & C.
[a translation of G. Schwarzwald], a forest in
Baden and W["u]rtemburg, in Germany; a part of the ancient
, or Black grouse
. (Zo["o]l.) See Blackcock
, and Heath grouse
(Bot.), a grasslike rush of the species Juncus Gerardi
, growing on salt marshes, and making good hay.
(Bot.), an American tree, the tupelo or
pepperidge. See Tupelo
Black Hamburg (grape)
(Bot.), a sweet and juicy variety of
dark purple or “black”
(Zo["o]l.), a fish of the Mississippi valley
), of the sucker family; the
(Zo["o]l.), the Lemurniger
of Madagascar; the
of the natives.
, 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
, v. t.
(Chem.), the black oxide of manganese,
, the close wagon in which prisoners are carried
to or from jail.
(Zo["o]l.), the chimney swift. See Swift
(Bot.), the common so-called long moss of the
southern United States. See Tillandsia
. See under Oak
. See Wad
, a very fine, light carbonaceous substance,
or lampblack, prepared chiefly for the manufacture of
printers' ink. It is obtained by burning common coal tar.
, sheet iron before it is tinned. --Knight.
, malignant anthrax with engorgement of a
shoulder or quarter, etc., as of an ox.
(Zo["o]l.), one of the species of rats (Mus rattus
), commonly infesting houses.
. See Blackmail
, n., 3.
, a disease of wheat, in which a black, moist
matter is deposited in the fissures of the grain.
, one in a family or company who is unlike the
rest, and makes trouble.
. (Min.) See under Silver
Black and tan
, black mixed or spotted with tan color or
reddish brown; -- used in describing certain breeds of
. See under Tea
(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.
. See under Walnut
(Zo["o]l.), an American hawk (Buteo Harlani
Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
, n. [Cf. LG. & G. flagge, Sw. flagg, Dan. flag, D.
vlag. See Flag
to hang loose.]
1. That which flags or hangs down loosely.
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.
(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.
4. (Zo["o]l.) One of the wing feathers next the body of a
bird; -- called also flag feather
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
. See under Black
, Flag leutenant
, etc., special officers
attached to the flagship, as aids to the 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.
, the flag officer's share of prize money.
(Railroad), a station at which trains do not
stop unless signaled to do so, by a flag hung out or
, a flag of a particular country, on which
some national emblem or device, is emblazoned.
, 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
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
To strike the flag
or To lower the flag
, to haul it down,
in token of respect, submission, or, in an engagement, of
, the quarantine flag of all nations; also
carried at a vessel's fore, to denote that an infectious
disease is on board.