blackwater

See also: black water and Blackwater

English

Alternative forms

• black water

Etymology

From black +‎ water.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

blackwater (usually uncountable, plural blackwaters)

1. Water containing loam, tannins, etc., giving it a very dark appearance. [from 15th c.]
2. Blackwater fever; malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum. [from 19th c.]
   • 1954, Doris Lessing, A Proper Marriage, HarperPerennial, published 1995, page 155:

     She began talking of the way they had died – blackwater, malaria, a neglected appendix.

4. Waste from domestic toilets; water containing fecal matter. [from 20th c.]

   Coordinate terms: nightsoil; gray water

   • 2009 March 1, “Letter: Green Cruising Efforts”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     Ms. Conlin failed to report, among other things, that air emissions are regulated and that our industry is exploring new technologies to further reduce emissions; that our ships treat all blackwater; and that advanced wastewater purification systems discharge water cleaner than most municipal water treatment plants.

Synonyms

• (waste water likely to contain fecal matter): brown water, foul water, sewage

Coordinate terms

• gray water
• sullage
• washwater

Translations

contaminated waste water

• Afrikaans: swartwater
• Arabic: please add this translation if you can:
• Armenian: կեղտաջուր (hy) (keġtaǰur), կոյուղաջուր (hy) (koyuġaǰur)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑水 (zh) (hēishuǐ), 污水 (zh) (wūshuǐ)

• Dutch: zwart water n, zwartwater n
• Finnish: käymälävesi
• French: eaux noires (fr)
• German: Schwarzwasser (de)
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can:
• Italian: acqua di scolo, acque nere
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can:
• Korean: please add this translation if you can:
• Portuguese: esgoto (pt) m
• Russian: фека́льный отхо́д m (fekálʹnyj otxód), чёрная вода́ f (čórnaja vodá)
• Spanish: agua negra f
• Vietnamese: nước đen, nước bẩn

See also

• blackwater rafting