blacked-out

The compound "blacked-out" is a modern formation from the phrasal verb "to black out," which emerged in the early 20th century. Its primary sense derives from the practice of extinguishing or concealing all lights in a city during wartime air raids to make it invisible from the air, literally rendering it "black" or dark "out" in the open. The secondary sense, referring to a loss of consciousness or memory, is a metaphorical extension from this visual obscuration, implying a sudden, complete darkness falling over one's awareness or recall. The logic of the word is transparent, combining the core concept of darkness with a completive particle to signify total obscuration, whether literal or figurative.

Structure: black (darkened) + out (completely) - black: From Old English blæc (dark, ink). In this compound, it functions as the core adjective meaning "darkened" or "obscured". - out: From Old English ūt (out, outside). In this compound, it functions as an adverbial particle intensifying the meaning to "completely" or "to the point of extinction".