ebony
[ eb-uh-nee ]
/ ˈɛb ə ni /
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noun, plural eb·on·ies.
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.
any tree yielding such wood.
any of various similar woods or trees.
a deep, lustrous black.
adjective
Also ebon. made of ebony.
of a deep, lustrous black.
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Question 1 of 7
Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?
First appeared around 1750, and is related to the French word “braguette” for the name of codpiece armor.
First appeared in 1610, based on the French word “baguette” for the long loaf of bread.
First appeared in 1555, and is related to the French word “raquette” for a netted bat.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT Words nearby ebony
Ebonics, ebonist, ebonite, ebonize, Ebonji, ebony, ebony spleenwort, e-book, Ebor., Eboracum, éboulement
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for ebony
British Dictionary definitions for ebony
ebony
/ (ˈɛbənɪ) /
noun plural -onies
any of various tropical and subtropical trees of the genus Diospyros, esp D. ebenum of S India, that have hard dark wood: family EbenaceaeSee also persimmon
the wood of such a tree, much used for cabinetwork
- a black colour, sometimes with a dark olive tinge
- (as adjective)an ebony skin
Word Origin for ebony
C16 hebeny, from Late Latin ebeninus from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos ebony, of Egyptian origin
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