In the recent years, there has been a rising interest in analysis of color perception and color nomination in various languages, which is determined by the fact that the semantic field of color is one of the most productive sources for creation of new meanings, and the range of these meanings is constantly changing. The present study provides an overview of the evolution of meaning of color term black in English and Latvian in synchronic and diachronic perspective to establish a sound referential framework for further analysis of color representation in the working languages. The established framework may be further used in addressing translation issues, in contrastive and comparative language studies, as well as cross-culture research.