Dictionary

black belt en · NOUN · etymology 1

Etymology

Calque of Japanese 黒帯 (kuroobi)

Meanings

1. The highest belt colour in various martial arts.
2. Someone who has attained the black belt in martial arts.
   • Raymond is a black belt in karate.
3. (colloquial, figuratively) Great skill in any field.
4. A senior manager who is expert in one of various management systems such as Six Sigma or DMAIC and acts in a project leader or mentor role.
   • I had the good fortune of being engaged to participate as a trainer to GE Capital Corporation, where we helped to launch their now well-known and highly regarded black belt program. 2011, Bob Paladino, Five Key Principles of Corporate Performance Management, →ISBN:

Forms

Coordinates

green belt · white belt

Synonyms

dan · dan

Translations (19)

fr ceinture noire (person who has attained the black belt) · cmn 黑帶 /黑带 (highest belt color in various martial arts) · ca cinturó negre (highest belt color in various martial arts) · pt faixa preta (highest belt color in various martial arts) · es cinta negra (highest belt color in various martial arts) · pl czarny pas (person who has attained the black belt) · he חֲגוֹרָה שְׁחוֹרָה (highest belt color in various martial arts) · de schwarzer Gürtel (highest belt color in various martial arts) · ru чернопоя́сник (person who has attained the black belt) · fr ceinture noire (highest belt color in various martial arts) · fi musta vyö (highest belt color in various martial arts) · pl czarny pas (highest belt color in various martial arts) · ja 黒帯 (highest belt color in various martial arts) · cmn 黑帶 /黑带 (person who has attained the black belt) · mr ब्लॅक बेल्ट (person who has attained the black belt) · de Schwarzgürtel (person who has attained the black belt) · pt faixa preta (person who has attained the black belt) · ru чёрный поя́с (highest belt color in various martial arts) · ar حِزَام أَسْوَد (highest belt color in various martial arts)

black belt en · NOUN · etymology 2

Etymology

From black + belt, originally named after the dark soil.

Meanings

1. (Southern, US) A geographic region where the residents are predominantly or exclusively African-American.
   • Bernard Cosman found that in Georgia, it was the black belt whites who gave Goldwater his largest percentage of the vote. 1992, Hanes Walton, The Native Son Presidential Candidate: The Carter Vote in Georgia, →ISBN, page 5:
2. A roughly crescent-shaped geological formation of dark fertile soil in the Southern United States.
   • The Black Belt region, also called the Black Prairie, extends 300 miles across central Alabama and northeast Mississippi and into Tennessee. […] The dark soil for which the Black Belt was named was once famous for its richness and the abundant cotton produced in it. 2014, Richard Pillsbury, editor, The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture, volume 2, University of North Carolina Press, →ISBN, page 157:
   • The most politically powerful southerners were those who hailed from the black belt region— distinguished by its dark and fertile soil—which contained the bulk of large-scale plantation and hence the highest percentage of slaves. 2018, Seth C. McKee, The Dynamics of Southern Politics: Causes and Consequences, CQ Press, →ISBN, page 9:

Forms

Coordinates

white belt (region of United States) · Bible Belt (region of United States) · Rust Belt (region of United States)

Relateds

black earth (dark fertile soil)