Black Douglas
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Sir William Douglas, lord of Nithsdale, who died about 1392.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Black Douglas” mean?
Sir William Douglas, lord of Nithsdale, who died about 1392.
Is “Black Douglas” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.