black-facedadj.
/ˈblakˌfeɪst/, U.S. /ˈblækˌfeɪst/ 1. Of a thing (also with personification): dark, dismal, gloomy.
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the world > matter > light > darkness or absence of light > darkness or gloom > [adjective]
duneOE
thestera900
thestria900
wana1000
darkfulOE
fadec1290
obscurousa1492
black-faced1562
murkyc1590
gloomy1594
tenebrous1599
solemn1604
overcast1616
mungy1632
shady1746
sombrous1754
sombre1760
gloomyish1821
gloomfula1849
ebonine1881
1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet 48 The dawning they shall see, ne sommer any more, But blackfaced night with winter rough, (ah) beaten ouer sore.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. F This black-fac't night, desires foule nourse. View more context for this quotation
1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 71 The Sunne did frowne, Fore-shewing to his men a blacke-fac't day.
a1676 J. Dunton Heavenly Pastime (1685) 131 Black faced terror does diffuse it self throughout the Ocean.
1881 W. Carleton Farm Festivals 53 Hover and crowd, ye black-faced cloud!
1907 H. R. Gibson Maid of Redenfayn x. 191 So black-faced Night, and her Cimmerian hordes, Filled land, and sea, and sky, with blinding fogs.
1993 F. Allen Brown Parrots of Providencia 58 A landing of sad flotsam in craven Darkness,..to life on this black-faced haven.
2.
a. Of a person: having a dark-coloured or blackened face.
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the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > darkness > [adjective]
blackeOE
browned-black?c1510
dark?1537
black-faced1581
adust?1586
black-visaged1602
mulatto1622
kettle-faced1680
black-favoured1681
black-a-top1685
brown-complexioned1704
blackavised1721
brunette1724
brune1747
dark-skinned1750
black-looking1753
melanic1826
melanous1836
brunet1840
copper-skinned1873
brown-skinned1904
brown-
1581 J. Studley tr. Seneca Hippolytus v, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 74 O tamer of blackefaced light Alcides, now restore Thy booty brought from Hel.
1597 R. Johnson 2nd Pt. Famous Hist. Seauen Champions v. sig. O2 I haue tamed the black-faste furyes of darke Cositus that maskte abroad the worlde in humaine shapes.
1615 T. Dekker Cold Yeare sig. Cv I prayde my black-facde Gentleman [sc. a collier] to tell the Newes out.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Richard III (1623) i. ii. 154 + 4 Black-fac'd Clifford shooke his sword at him.
1705 J. Dunton Life & Errors iv. 190 My Guide ask'd me if I had ever seen any of those Black Fac'd Indians before? I told him no.
1770 T. Bridges Burlesque Transl. Homer I. Iliad i. 51 Juno's crook'd legg'd black fac'd son.
1800 Mem. Dick, Little Poney xi. 105 A black faced fellow, with an apron, soon visited me, and shod me again.
1838 C. Gilman Recoll. Southern Matron ii. 18 He..called the little boy who held the travelling bag a ‘black-faced nigger’.
1875 Ld. Tennyson Queen Mary ii. i. 65 The black-faced swarms of Spain.
1909 Cosmopolitan Apr. 582/1 The black-faced captain was habitually ‘maddened with drink’.
1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife xi. 156 The black-faced miners, tin-helmeted.
2007 G. D. Shuman Last Breath vii. 109 A sepia-colored photograph of a dozen black-faced coal miners hung..above the fire-place.
b. Of an animal: having a black or dark-coloured face.Frequently in the names of birds and mammals. Cf. blackface n. 3.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > genus Ovus > [adjective] > of parts of > having a particular colour of face
black-faced1614
1614 G. Markham Cheape & Good Hvsbandry i. 65 These Sheep are very little of bone, blacke faced, and beare a very little burthen.
1760 Mod. Part Universal Hist. (new ed.) VI. xxi. iii. 131 The chief animals bred in this island are cows, horses, asses, mules, deer, hogs, goats, and black-faced monkies with long tails.
1773 G. White Let. 9 Dec. in Nat. Hist. Selborne (1789) 164 The black-faced poll-sheep have the shortest legs.
1801 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 394 The Cheviot breed of sheep will succeed fully as well in the North, if not better, than the common Black-faced.
1852 W. Macgillivray Hist. Brit. Birds IV. 629 Bernicla Brenta. The Black-faced Bernicle-goose.
1965 Austral. Encycl. IV. 121/1 The best-known [tropical flycatchers] are the leaden flycatcher..and the black-faced flycatcher.
2003 Caribbean World Winter 58/2 The yellowthroat is a black-faced, yellow-bellied bird of dense waterside vegetation.
3. Typography. Designating or printed in blackface type; bold. Cf. blackface n. Compounds 3.
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society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > [adjective] > thick, full-bodied type
black-faced1827
fat1841
1827 J. L. Parkhurst Teacher's Guide 15 Jan. 50 However large the letters may be, their form should be the same, as that of the small letters in common use; not so black-faced as those on the 10th and 11th pages of Worcester's Primer.
1897 E. L. Foote Librarian of Sunday School 31 To offset the titles against the authors' names underscore each one with blue and instruct the printer that this means a black-faced type.
1909 J. Law Text Bk. Vet. Med. (ed. 2) V. 4 Those..have been printed in blackfaced letters so that they can be readily picked out.
1941 Times 28 Aug. 6/6 A supply of stamps was..adapted for local use by the addition of the name ‘Kenya Tanganyika Uganda’ applied in three lines of black-faced type.
2004 Star Phoenix (Saskatoon, Sask.) (Nexis) 3 Jan. (Sat. Final ed.) e4 Don't pass over the dates that are set in black-faced type at the start of each chapter.
Compounds
black-faced ibis n. an ibis of southern and western South America, Theristicus melanopis (family Threskiornithidae), with a blackish face and throat-wattle, cream head and neck, grey back, and black underparts.
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1785 J. Latham Index Ornithol. III. i. (plate facing p. 108) Black-faced Ibis.
1893 Trans. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 19 84 In the distance a flock of black-faced ibises are feeding, heralding our approach with loud and metallic cry.
2003 Bird Keeper June 63/4 In aviaries which are of sensible dimensions there are black-faced ibis.
black-faced impala n. an impala antelope of the subspecies Aepyceros melampus petersi, distinguished by its relatively heavy body and dark facial stripe, found only in south-western Angola and northern Namibia.Formerly regarded as a full species.
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1928 T. A. Barnes Angolan Sketches v.190 A group of sable and specimens of oryx, Hartman's zebra, koodoo, black-faced impala, springbok, etc.
2001 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 19 May (Life section) 4/2 A pressing mission for south-west Africa—saving the graceful, black-faced impala.
black-faced lion tamarin n. a lion tamarin, Leontopithecus caissara, having chiefly golden fur with a black face, mane, tail, and feet, found in a small area of Brazil.Discovered in 1990 and first thought to be a subspecies of the black lion tamarin, L. chrysopygus.
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1990 Associated Press Newswire (Nexis) 20 June The black-faced lion tamarin, as the new monkey is called, is a golden squirrel-size monkey with black face, forearms and tail.
2006 A. B. Anderson & C. N. Jenkins Applying Nature's Design v. 84 Endemic to the Atlantic Forest, all four species of lion tamarins—including the black lion tamarin..and the black-faced lion tamarin..—are threatened by forest extinction.
black-faced spoonbill n. a rare spoonbill, Platalea minor (family Threskiornithidae), with chiefly white plumage and a black face, found in some coastal areas of eastern Asia.
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1890 H. Seebohm Birds Japanese Empire 231 Swinhoe's Black-faced Spoonbill is rather smaller than the Common Spoonbill; the naked skin on the face is black.
1979 Auk 96 217 The crest of the Black-faced Spoonbill..is tawny rather than white in breeding plumage, which further distinguishes it from the White Spoonbill.
2003 Birder's World Apr. 16/2 More than seven percent of the world population of Black-faced Spoonbills died after an outbreak of avian botulism this past winter.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1562