Etymology

black market

Today it means: Trade that is in violation of restrictions, rationing, or price controls. Full definition →

German Schwarzmarkt
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The story

  1. German · calque ofSchwarzmarkt
  2. English todayblack market

Ca. 1930, probably a calque of German Schwarzmarkt, which is attested from the 1910s. Compare Schwärzer (“smuggler”, 18th c.).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.