blackout

Etymology

It is a noun use of the phrasal verb black out,^[2][3][4][5] from the verb black and out.^[6] Etymonline notes that black out, in the sense of covering written or printed matter with black ink, is recorded from 1888.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The darkening of a stage between scenes: Etymonline dates it to 1908,^[6] the OED, in a letter of George Bernard Shaw, and Merriam-Webster to 1913,^[2][5] and Dictionary.com to 1910–15.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In 1929 the word was used for a pilot's temporary loss of vision under strong acceleration,^[2] and since 1934 for a loss of memory or consciousness, especially after drinking,^[2][6] and for the failure of an electricity supply and the darkness it causes.^[2] The sense of putting out or covering lights as a precaution against air raids is recorded from 1935^[2][6] and belongs above all to the Second World War,^[2] when blackout also meant the material used to cover windows (1941).^[2] Other extensions are the loss of radio reception (1940) and the deliberate suppression of news, as in news blackout (1941).^[2][3] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective, blocking out light completely, to 1934.^[5] A blackout cake, a rich chocolate layer cake, is recorded in the United States from 1942.^[2] In American slang blackout has also meant black coffee (1941) and, as an adjective in campus slang, very drunk.^[7]

Timeline

• 1908 – the darkening of a stage, in Etymonline.^[6]
• 1913 – the same sense, in the OED.^[2][5]
• 1929 – a temporary loss of vision in flight.^[2]
• 1934 – a loss of memory or consciousness; a power failure.^[2][6]
• 1935 – the dousing of lights against air raids.^[2][6]
• 1940 – a loss of radio reception.^[2]
• 1941 – the suppression of news; window coverings for air raids.^[2]
• 1942 – a chocolate layer cake.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A power failure, and the darkness it causes: The storm caused a blackout across the city.^{[8][9][10][2]}
2. The putting out or hiding of all lights that could be seen by enemy aircraft during an air raid.^{[8][9][10][2]}
3. A brief loss of consciousness, vision or memory.^[8][5][2]
4. The sudden darkening of a stage between scenes or at the end of a skit; also, a skit that ends in this way.^{[5][9][10][2]}
5. The suppression of news or information, as in news blackout.^[2][3]
6. A temporary loss of radio contact, as with a spacecraft entering the atmosphere.^[8][2]

Adjective

1. Blocking out light completely: blackout blinds.^[5][2]

Related words

• brownout

Usage notes

The American Heritage Dictionary groups blackout with faint, swoon and syncope, words that share the sense of a temporary loss of consciousness.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster