-dark-

a. [ OE. dark, derk, deork, AS. dearc, deorc; cf. Gael. & Ir. dorch, dorcha, dark, black, dusky. ] 1. Destitute, or partially destitute, of light; not receiving, reflecting, or radiating light; wholly or partially black, or of some deep shade of color; not light-colored; as, a dark room; a dark day; dark cloth; dark paint; a dark complexion. [ 1913 Webster ]

O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse
Without all hope of day! Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the dark and silent grave. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not clear to the understanding; not easily seen through; obscure; mysterious; hidden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The dark problems of existence. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Destitute of knowledge and culture; in moral or intellectual darkness; unrefined; ignorant. [ 1913 Webster ]

The age wherein he lived was dark, but he
Could not want light who taught the world to see. Denhan. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tenth century used to be reckoned by mediæval historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night. Hallam. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Evincing black or foul traits of character; vile; wicked; atrocious; as, a dark villain; a dark deed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Left him at large to his own dark designs. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious. [ 1913 Webster ]

More dark and dark our woes. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

A deep melancholy took possesion of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is, in every true woman-s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity. W. Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Deprived of sight; blind. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years. Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Dark is sometimes used to qualify another adjective; as, dark blue, dark green, and sometimes it forms the first part of a compound; as, dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-colored, dark-seated, dark-working. [ 1913 Webster ]

A dark horse, in racing or politics, a horse or a candidate whose chances of success are not known, and whose capabilities have not been made the subject of general comment or of wagers. [ Colloq. ] --
Dark house,
Dark room, a house or room in which madmen were confined. [ Obs. ] Shak. --
Dark lantern. See Lantern. -- The
Dark Ages, a period of stagnation and obscurity in literature and art, lasting, according to Hallam, nearly 1000 years, from about 500 to about 1500 A. D.. See Middle Ages, under Middle. --
The Dark and Bloody Ground, a phrase applied to the State of Kentucky, and said to be the significance of its name, in allusion to the frequent wars that were waged there between Indians. --
The dark day, a day (May 19, 1780) when a remarkable and unexplained darkness extended over all New England. --
To keep dark, to reveal nothing. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]