blackleg

[ blak-leg ]

/ ˈblækˌlɛg /

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noun

Also called black quarter, symptomatic anthrax. Veterinary Pathology. an infectious, often fatal disease of cattle and sheep, caused by the soil bacterium Clostridium chauvoei and characterized by painful, gaseous swellings in the muscles, usually of the upper parts of the legs.

Plant Pathology.

a disease of cabbage and other cruciferous plants, characterized by dry, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a fungus, Phoma lingam.
a disease of potatoes, characterized by wet, black lesions on the base of the stem, caused by a bacterium, Erwinia atroseptica.

a swindler, especially in racing or gambling.

British Informal. a strikebreaker; scab.

verb (used with object), black·legged, black·leg·ging.British Informal.

to replace (a worker) who is on strike.

to refuse to support (a union, union workers, or a strike).

to betray or deceive (a person or cause).

verb (used without object), black·legged, black·leg·ging.

British Informal. to return to work before a strike is settled.

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Origin of blackleg

First recorded in 1715–25; black + leg; the origin of nonliteral senses is unclear; cf. jackleg

Words nearby blackleg

black kite, black knight, black knot, black land, black lead, blackleg, black letter, black-letter day, black light, black-light trap, black liquor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blackleg in a sentence

It wad be awfu' to hear folk cryin' 'Blackleg' after yir faither, wadna' it, Mysie?
The Underworld|James C. Welsh
Is it to a house which displays the royal arms over the entrance-door men come to play blackleg or clown?
Paul Gosslett's Confessions in Love, Law, and The Civil Service|Charles James Lever
Cards are also going all day long, and there is generally a Fancy-man—or blackleg—ready to oblige a friend.
Lands of the Slave and the Free|Henry A. Murray
You and your master are cheats, he says, and your master is a blackleg besides, he says.
The Inspector-General|Nicolay Gogol

I told my son to discharge that knave; a scoundrel, a blackleg, a gambler, who ought to be hanged.
The Bath Keepers, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume VII)|Charles Paul de Kock

British Dictionary definitions for blackleg

blackleg

/ (ˈblæklɛɡ) /

noun

Also called: scab British

a person who acts against the interests of a trade union, as by continuing to work during a strike or taking over a striker's job
(as modifier)blackleg labour

Also called: black quarter an acute infectious disease of cattle, sheep, and pigs, characterized by gas-filled swellings, esp on the legs, caused by Clostridium bacteria

plant pathol

a fungal disease of cabbages and related plants caused by Phoma lingam, characterized by blackening and decay of the lower stems
a similar disease of potatoes, caused by bacteria

a person who cheats in gambling, esp at cards or in racing

verb -legs, -legging or -legged

British to act against the interests of a trade union, esp by refusing to join a strike

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012