Barnyard grass, for hay. South. Panicum Grus-galli. Bent,
pasture and hay. Agrostis, several species. Bermuda grass,
pasture. South. Cynodon Dactylon. Black bent. Same as Switch
grass (below). Blue bent, hay. North and West. Andropogon
provincialis. Blue grass, pasture. Poa compressa. Blue joint,
hay. Northwest. Aqropyrum glaucum. Buffalo grass, grazing.
Rocky Mts., etc.
(a) Buchlo["e] dectyloides.
(b) Same as Grama grass (below). Bunch grass, grazing.
Far West. Eriocoma, Festuca, Stips, etc. Chess,
or Cheat, a weed. Bromus secalinus, etc. Couch
grass. Same as Quick grass (below). Crab grass,
(a) Hay, in South. A weed, in North. Panicum sanguinale.
(b) Pasture and hay. South. Eleusine Indica. Darnel
(a) Bearded, a noxious weed. Lolium temulentum.
(b) Common. Same as Rye grass (below). Drop seed, fair
for forage and hay. Muhlenbergia, several species.
English grass. Same as Redtop (below). Fowl meadow
grass.
(a) Pasture and hay. Poa serotina.
(b) Hay, on moist land. Gryceria nervata. Gama grass,
cut fodder. South. Tripsacum dactyloides. Grama
grass, grazing. West and Pacific slope. Bouteloua
oligostachya, etc. Great bunch grass, pasture and
hay. Far West. Festuca scabrella. Guinea grass, hay.
South. Panicum jumentorum. Herd's grass, in New
England Timothy, in Pennsylvania and South Redtop.
Indian grass. Same as Wood grass (below). Italian
rye grass, forage and hay. Lolium Italicum. Johnson
grass, grazing and hay. South and Southwest. Sorghum
Halepense. Kentucky blue grass, pasture. Poa
pratensis. Lyme grass, coarse hay. South. Elymus,
several species. Manna grass, pasture and hay.
Glyceria, several species. Meadow fescue, pasture
and hay. Festuca elatior. Meadow foxtail, pasture,
hay, lawn. North. Alopecurus pratensis. Meadow
grass, pasture, hay, lawn. Poa, several species.
Mesquite grass, or Muskit grass. Same as Grama grass
(above). Nimble Will, a kind of drop seed.
Muhlenbergia diffsa. Orchard grass, pasture and hay.
Dactylis glomerata. Porcupine grass, troublesome to
sheep. Northwest. Stipa spartea. Quaking grass,
ornamental. Briza media and maxima. Quitch, or
Quick, grass, etc., a weed. Agropyrum repens. Ray
grass. Same as Rye grass (below). Redtop, pasture
and hay. Agrostis vulgaris. Red-topped buffalo
grass, forage. Northwest. Poa tenuifolia. Reed
canary grass, of slight value. Phalaris arundinacea.
Reed meadow grass, hay. North. Glyceria aquatica.
Ribbon grass, a striped leaved form of Reed canary
grass. Rye grass, pasture, hay. Lolium perenne,
var. Seneca grass, fragrant basket work, etc. North.
Hierochloa borealis. Sesame grass. Same as Gama
grass (above). Sheep's fescue, sheep pasture, native
in Northern Europe and Asia. Festuca ovina. Small
reed grass, meadow pasture and hay. North. Deyeuxia
Canadensis. Spear grass, Same as Meadow grass
(above). Squirrel-tail grass, troublesome to animals.
Seacoast and Northwest. Hordeum jubatum. Switch
grass, hay, cut young. Panicum virgatum. Timothy,
cut young, the best of hay. North. Phleum pratense.
Velvet grass, hay on poor soil. South. Holcus
lanatus. Vernal grass, pasture, hay, lawn.
Anthoxanthum odoratum. Wire grass, valuable in
pastures. Poa compressa. Wood grass, Indian grass,
hay. Chrysopogon nutans.
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Note: Many plants are popularly called grasses which are not
true grasses botanically considered, such as black
grass, goose grass, star grass, etc.
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Black grass, a kind of small rush (Juncus Gerardi),
growing in salt marshes, used for making salt hay.
Grass of the Andes, an oat grass, the Arrhenatherum
avenaceum of Europe.
Grass of Parnassus, a plant of the genus Parnassia
growing in wet ground. The European species is Parnassia
palustris; in the United States there are several
species.
Grass bass (Zool.), the calico bass.
Grass bird, the dunlin.
Grass cloth, a cloth woven from the tough fibers of the
grass-cloth plant.
Grass-cloth plant, a perennial herb of the Nettle family
(B[oe]hmeria nivea syn. Urtica nivea), which grows in
Sumatra, China, and Assam, whose inner bark has fine and
strong fibers suited for textile purposes.
Grass finch. (Zool.)
(a) A common American sparrow (Po["o]c[ae]tes
gramineus); -- called also vesper sparrow and
bay-winged bunting.
(b) Any Australian finch, of the genus Po["e]phila, of
which several species are known.
Grass lamb, a lamb suckled by a dam running on pasture land
and giving rich milk.
Grass land, land kept in grass and not tilled.
Grass moth (Zool.), one of many small moths of the genus
Crambus, found in grass.
Grass oil, a fragrant essential volatile oil, obtained in
India from grasses of the genus Andropogon, etc.; --
used in perfumery under the name of citronella, ginger
grass oil, lemon grass oil, essence of verbena etc.
Grass owl (Zool.), a South African owl (Strix Capensis).
Grass parrakeet (Zool.), any of several species of
Australian parrots, of the genus Euphemia; -- also
applied to the zebra parrakeet.
Grass plover (Zool.), the upland or field plover.
Grass poly (Bot.), a species of willowwort (Lythrum
Hyssopifolia). --Johnson.
Crass quit (Zool.), one of several tropical American
finches of the genus Euetheia. The males have most of
the head and chest black and often marked with yellow.
Grass snake. (Zool.)
(a) The common English, or ringed, snake (Tropidonotus
natrix).
(b) The common green snake of the Northern United States.
See Green snake, under Green.
Grass snipe (Zool.), the pectoral sandpiper (Tringa
maculata); -- called also jacksnipe in America.
Grass spider (Zool.), a common spider (Agelena n[ae]via),
which spins flat webs on grass, conspicuous when covered
with dew.
Grass sponge (Zool.), an inferior kind of commercial sponge
from Florida and the Bahamas.
Grass table. (Arch.) See Earth table, under Earth.
Grass vetch (Bot.), a vetch (Lathyrus Nissolia), with
narrow grasslike leaves.
Grass widow. [Cf. Prov. R. an unmarried mother, G.
strohwittwe a mock widow, Sw. gr[aum]senka a grass widow.]
(a) An unmarried woman who is a mother. [Obs.]
(b) A woman separated from her husband by abandonment or
prolonged absence; a woman living apart from her
husband. [Slang.]
Grass wrack (Bot.) eelgrass.
To bring to grass (Mining.), to raise, as ore, to the
surface of the ground.
To put to grass, To put out to grass, to put out to graze
a season, as cattle.
[1913 Webster]
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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).
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Dark; murky; pitchy; inky; somber; dusky; gloomy; swart;
Cimmerian; ebon; atrocious.
[1913 Webster]
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