欧洲中世纪

[ noun ]
the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance
<noun.time>

Dark \Dark\ (d[aum]rk), 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.

O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon,
Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse
Without all hope of day! --Milton.

In the dark and silent grave. --Sir W.
Raleigh.

2. Not clear to the understanding; not easily seen through;
obscure; mysterious; hidden.

The dark problems of existence. --Shairp.

What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be
found more plain. --Hooker.

What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word?
--Shak.

3. Destitute of knowledge and culture; in moral or
intellectual darkness; unrefined; ignorant.

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

The tenth century used to be reckoned by medi[ae]val
historians as the darkest part of this intellectual
night. --Hallam.

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

Left him at large to his own dark designs. --Milton.

5. Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious.

More dark and dark our woes. --Shak.

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

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.

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

He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had
been for some years. --Evelyn.

Note: 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.

{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]