soot

 
Pronunciation: /sʊt/

noun

[mass noun]
  • a deep black powdery or flaky substance consisting largely of amorphous carbon, produced by the incomplete burning of organic matter.

verb

[with object]
  • cover or clog (something) with soot: you have previously sooted the underside of their plate by holding it over a candle

Phrases

(as) black as soot

intensely black: the clouds as black as soot

Origin:

Old English sōt, of Germanic origin; related to German dialect Sott, from an Indo-European root shared by the verb sit