Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Melanism

Melanism (mel"ȧ*niz'm) , noun

[Greek me`las, -anos, black.]

1.
An undue development of dark-colored pigment in the skin or its appendages; -- the opposite of albinism.
2.
(Medicine) A disease; black jaundice. See Melaena.

Melanism (mel"ȧ*niz'm) , noun

(Ethnology) The character of having a high degree of pigmentation, as shown in dark skin, eyes, and hair.