Word.ws English Dictionary

washing a blackamoor white

washing a blackamoor white is the present participle and gerund of wash a blackamoor white.

Meaning of wash a blackamoor white

Verb

wash a blackamoor white (third-person singular simple present washes a blackamoor white, present participle washing a blackamoor white, simple past and past participle washed a blackamoor white)

  1. (dated, idiomatic, offensive) To labour in vain, especially so as to present something as better than it really is; to whitewash.
    • It is not my Intention to put myself in a Perspiration concerning any of the Hieroglyphic Emblems, or Monstrosities of the Egyptians, for it is all Labour in vain, or washing a Blackamoor white.1778, John van Rymsdyk, Andreas van Rymsdyk, Museum Britannicum […], page 33
    Synonyms:
    wash a negro white, wash a nigger white

Questions about washing a blackamoor white

What is washing a blackamoor white the present participle and gerund of?
Washing a blackamoor white is the present participle and gerund of wash a blackamoor white.

Words near washing a blackamoor white in the dictionary

  1. Washim
  2. washin'
  3. washiness
  4. washinesses
  5. washing
  6. washing a blackamoor white
  7. washing a negro white
  8. washing and going
  9. washing away
  10. washing ball
  11. washing balls

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: washing a blackamoor white (page history and authors); wash a blackamoor white (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.

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