blackheart

English

Etymology

black +‎ heart

Noun

blackheart (plural blackhearts)

1. A heart-shaped cherry with a very dark skin.
   • 1914, E.B. Loring, For the comfort of the family, →ISBN, page 89:

     There are cherries enough for all, as when we planted we took into consideration the needs of our feathered neighbors, so the birds do not miss the fruit when on our breakfast table appears a great wooden bowl —you have no idea what an artistic bit the chopping bowl becomes when utilized in this way—filled with clusters of blackheart and white-heart cherries and their leaves.

   • 1996, Richard R. Shaw, The Lower Penobscot River Region, →ISBN, page 56:

     “Here travelers sat beneath a great blackheart cherry tree growing among white rosebushes by the fence,” notes a 1937 American Guide Series book, “and watched the busy river traffic while they waited for supper.”

2. Any of various plant diseases that cause darkening of the central tissue.
   • 1981, W. J. Hooker, Compendium of Potato Diseases, →ISBN, page 10:

     Blackheart results from inadequate oxygen supply for respiration (asphyxiation) of internal tuber tissue.

   • 1986, Arden F. Sherf, Alan A. MacNab, Vegetable Diseases and Their Control, →ISBN, page 201:

     Calcium sprays of 10 to 20 pounds of Ca(NO₃)₂ or 5 to 10 pounds of CaCl₂ per 100 gallons of water per acre applied once or twice per week have provided good control in several trials and are considered most beneficial when blackheart appears before harvest, when plants may outgrow it, and when it is necessary to hold mature celery in the field.

   • 2002, P.K. Ray, Breeding Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, →ISBN, page 208:

     Sanewski and Giles (1997) have developed a hybrid resistant to blackheart.

3. A type of malleable cast iron with minimum tensile strength of 350 N/mm².
   • 2013, V. B. Bhandari, Introduction to Machine Design, →ISBN, page 49:

     Blackheart malleable cast iron has excellent castability and machinability.

4. A cruel and remorseless person.
   • 2007, Jo Walton, The King's Name, →ISBN:

     That blackheart would have thrust you out to wail and gained the time himself, without you there.

   • 2011, L M Meier, Maji: The Untold Adventure of the Men of the East, →ISBN, page 67:

     As much as I tried to get the blackheart out of my mind, the more he seemed to enter it from unsuspecting directions.

   • 2012, Ms. Cinderella, Undiscovered, →ISBN:

     Any experience that reveals the spirit from a blackheart

See also

• white-heart

Anagrams

• black earth