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View synonyms for ebony

ebony

[ eb-uh-nee ]

noun

, plural eb·on·ies.
  1. a hard, heavy, durable wood, most highly prized when black, from various tropical trees of the genus Diospyros, as D. ebenum of southern India and Sri Lanka, used for cabinetwork, ornamental objects, etc.
  2. any tree yielding such wood.
  3. any of various similar woods or trees.
  4. a deep, lustrous black.


adjective

  1. Also made of ebony.
  2. of a deep, lustrous black.

ebony

/ ˈɛbənɪ /

noun

  1. any of various tropical and subtropical trees of the genus Diospyros, esp D. ebenum of S India, that have hard dark wood: family Ebenaceae See also persimmon
  2. the wood of such a tree, much used for cabinetwork
    1. a black colour, sometimes with a dark olive tinge
    2. ( as adjective )

      an ebony skin

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of ebony1

First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier hebeny; ebon; -y perhaps after ivory
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ebony1

C16 hebeny , from Late Latin ebeninus from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos ebony, of Egyptian origin
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Example Sentences

The pieces, purchased by my grandparents on their honeymoon to Mexico in 1949, were slender, made of ebony and ivory.

I returned to the front desk with my selection, and a few minutes later, a handler appeared with Luna, a 6-month-old with an ebony coat, almond eyes and a toddler’s irrepressible energy.

Sinking your spoon into the plastic cup delivers ebony and ivory in perfect harmony.

Soon thereafter she gave birth to a little daughter who was as white as snow, as red as blood, and her hair as black as ebony.

“I remember saying, ‘Oh my God, Mom, you have to move,’” Ebony remembers.

Afterward, Ebony went to the apartment where her mother had made such a valiant stand.

Ebony had been 12 when her mother was suddenly deprived of her livelihood.

That did not preclude Ebony Jones from speaking about her mother.

Stradiuarius made a few instruments inlaid with ebony and ivory round the edges.

Pallid, Sir Lucien Pyne lay by the ebony chair glaring horribly upward.

It had spread, an ebony patch, equally about the bole of the tree, so that the sun must have been immediately overhead.

Before going down he locked them up in a small ebony cabinet which stood against the wall.

On coming out his skin would be shining like ebony, and he would squeal with pleasure as I rubbed water down his back.

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Ebonjiebony spleenwort