Motion diagram. A Deaf-recorded clip from the PopSign corpus (CC BY 4.0) exists for this sign and can be placed here.
BLACK
“black”
How to make it
Draw an index finger across your forehead, from one side toward the other.
Where the sign comes from
UnknownNo reliable source. We'd rather say so than invent one.
Sometimes said to trace a dark eyebrow. The form is stable across a century of records, but no reliable source explains it.
No sources — which is the point of the “unknown” tier. If you know of a documented account, the historical databases are where to check it.
The sign, taken apart
Every ASL sign is built from a handshape, a place it's made, and a movement. Learn to see these three and you can read and store any sign.
Location
Forehead
Made at the forehead.
Movement
a straight path
One-handed.
Palm facing down.