Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A secret society organized for acts of terrorism and blackmail that was active in the United States in the early 20th century.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • A Spanish anarchistic society, many of the members of which were imprisoned in 1883.
  • United States A lawless or blackmailing secret society, esp. among Italians.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a secret terrorist society in the United States early in the 20th century

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Camorra, in other words the Black Hand, in other words the cruel and sinister Sicilian terrorists named the Mafia.

    The Day of the Boomer Dukes Frederik Pohl 1957

  • I will start with the IMRO (VMRO) in Macedonia and Bulgaria, proceed to Serbia and its union with death ( "Union or Death", aka the Black Hand), study the Ustasha in detail and end with the current mutation of

    Terrorists and Freedom Fighters Samuel Vaknin

  • I could well imagine such a fellow spreading terror in the hearts of simple folk by merely pressing both temples with his thumbs and drawing his long bony fore-finger under his throat -- the so-called Black Hand sign that has shut up many a witness in the middle of his testimony even in open court.

    The Silent Bullet 1908

  • As the Black Hand was a "government within a government," and unofficial, Belgrade could always pretend to be ignorant of its doings.

    Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle 1903

  • I could well imagine such a fellow spreading terror in the hearts of simple folk by merely pressing both temples with his thumbs and drawing his long bony forefinger under his throat -- the so-called Black Hand sign that has shut up many a witness in the middle of his testimony even in open court.

    Masterpieces of Mystery In Four Volumes Detective Stories Joseph Lewis French 1897

  • The Black Hand was the precursor of the Great Serbia dream.

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows samvaknin 2009

  • a fellow spreading terror in the hearts of simple folk by merely pressing both temples with his thumbs and drawing his long bony fore-finger under his throat -- the so-called Black Hand sign that has shut up many a witness in the middle of his testimony even in open court.

    Master Tales of Mystery, Volume 3 1902

  • He wanted to know about where the Tuscans usually headed for when they left Ellis Island, what sort of gangs they had in New York and what kind of Black Hand deviltry they were most given to.

    Shorty McCabe Sewell Ford 1907

  • With each subway ride and opening of the book, I was making trips across the Atlantic, moving through Ellis Island, and then around those same narrow streets either battling the Black Hand or searching for healing powers in Chinatown.

    Christopher Herz: A True Interactive Connection 2010

  • With each subway ride and opening of the book, I was making trips across the Atlantic, moving through Ellis Island, and then around those same narrow streets either battling the Black Hand or searching for healing powers in Chinatown.

    Christopher Herz: A True Interactive Connection 2010

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