What is the Old English word for "black"?

The Old English word for black is blæc, pronounced somewhat like black with a vowel similar to modern a in cat, and it is the direct ancestor of modern English black. In Old English, blæc meant black, dark, or ink-like, and was used to describe color, darkness, and sometimes metaphorical darkness. There was also sweart, which meant black, dark, or swarthy and is related to modern English swarthy and German schwarz, used for dark or blackish complexion. Another related term is blac with different vowel length could mean pale or shining in some contexts, which causes confusion because Old English had blæc meaning black and blac meaning pale, distinguished by vowel length. In everyday Old English usage, blæc was most common for black color, appearing in texts describing clothing, hair, and night. The modern word black descends directly from blæc through Middle English blak or black. So if you want to say black in Old English, you would write blæc, pronounced blatch with æ sound.