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Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
lamp-black

pigment made from pure, fine carbon, originally from the soot produced by burning oil in lamps, 1590s, see lamp.

Usage examples of "lamp-black".

Now they emerged from the marshes without a sound—or so Jack managed to convince himself as he squatted in the bows with Dappa, slathering his naked body with a mixture of ox-grease and lamp-black.