Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "melanous" [melanous]

  • Having a swarthy or black complexion and black hair. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "melanous" in a sentence
  • "But now that he's got the job, he has to perform or become the old token "black" of that era -- whose most important qualification was that he was sufficiently "melanous" -- if you know what I mean -- to fill corporate affirmative action guidelines."
  • "The change from the _xanthous_ to the _melanous_ complexion, is a circumstance of constant occurrence; there are few children born, whose complexion does not darken as they grow up, in many cases undergoing a total change: the passage from dark to fair is rare, but it constantly occurs that _xanthous_, or even _leucous_ children, are born of"
  • "To the different characters of human complexion, Dr Prichard gives three distinctive terms -- the _melanous_ or brunette; the _xanthous_ or blonde; and the _leucous_ or albino; the _melanous_ predominating in the southern countries, the _xanthous_ in the northern."