blackamoor

UK/ˈblæk.əˌmɔː(ɹ)/US/ˈblæk.əˌmɔɹ/

blackamoor noun: a person with dark black skin, especially one from north Africa.

Noun (1)

blackamoor (plural blackamoors)

(archaic, offensive) A person with dark black skin, especially one from north Africa.
- Argent, three blackamoors’ heads couped sable, capped or, fretty gules.
- `Well, Job,' I said, `perhaps it would be as well. There are lots of blankets there, only be careful to keep out of the moon, or it may turn your head or blind you.' `Lord, sir! I don't think it would much matter if it did; it is that turned already with the sight of these blackamoors and their...1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC
(offensive) A black slave or servant, and hence any slave, servant, inferior, or child.
- In 1596 Elizabeth I had already decreed that all "blackamoors" should be sent back to Spain or Portugal as they were disturbing local labour markets. It became very fashionable for the wealthy to have "blackamoor" page boys and personal servants, as their complexions set off the pale-skinned beauty...1893, Annotation to The Diary of Samuel Pepys by "Mary", http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1660/08/10/index.php citing Restoration London, Liza Picard, pages 178-179.
- She seems to have been a serious girl, but she remembered her father's characterization of her as his "Little blackamoor."1999, Doug Davis, Lost Girl, archived from the original on 04 Feb 2005

Blackamoor

Blackamoor (plural Blackamoors)

(archaic, obsolete, offensive) Alternative letter-case form of blackamoor.
- highly discontented to understand the great numbers of negars and Blackamoors which (as she is informed) are crept into this realm... who are fostered and relieved [i.e. fed] her to the great annoyance of her own liege people, that want the relief [i.e. food], which those people consume, as also...1601, pronouncement of Queen Elizabeth I in 1601, Staying Power: the History of Black People in Britain, Peter Fryer
- […] Mrs. Milford broke the thread of his soliloquy by desiring he would not talk about nasty Blackamoors any more, for she should dream of them at her bed-side.1810, [anonymous] […], chapter XXVI, in Splendid Follies. A Novel, […]. Founded on Facts., volume III, London: […] J[ames] F[letcher] Hughes, […], →OCLC, page 87

I don't think it would much matter if it did; it is that turned already with the sight of these blackamoors and their filthy, thieving ways.'1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
"What!" exclaimed the Prince, "the music is by the blackamoor (a black Moor).2003, Dr. Kwaku Person-Lynn, Beethoven: Revealing His True Identity:
He had said to Adusei during a criminal trial, "How's the blackamoor?".2002, Barbara Hewson, An English Bar Disciplinary Tribunal went over the top when dealing with a racial harassment case.:

From earlier blackmoor + -a-. By surface analysis, black + -a- + Moor.

From Blakemor (first recorded use in 1210), from Old English blæc (“black”) + mór (“moor”).

What does blackamoor mean?: Blackamoor means a person with dark black skin, especially one from north Africa.
How do you use blackamoor in a sentence?: I don't think it would much matter if it did; it is that turned already with the sight of these blackamoors and their filthy, thieving ways.'
What part of speech is blackamoor?: Blackamoor can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce blackamoor?: Blackamoor is pronounced /ˈblæk.əˌmɔː(ɹ)/ (UK).
What is the plural of blackamoor?: The plural of blackamoor is blackamoors.

Adapted from Wiktionary: blackamoor (page history and authors); Blackamoor (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “blackamoor.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/blackamoor. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.