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ivory black

American  

noun

  1. a fine black pigment made by calcining ivory.


ivory black British  

noun

  1. a black pigment obtained by grinding charred scraps of ivory in oil

"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

Etymology

Origin of ivory black

First recorded in 1625–35


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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The first episode investigated that illegible signature and the pigments possibly used on the canvas, including Prussian blue and ivory black.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026

She may repeat this process twenty times or more, sanding the entire surface, before she lays down the next layer of ivory black mixed with burnt umber, ultramarine blue, and sometimes a touch of white.

From The New Yorker ● Aug. 26, 2019

She knew the paw well, dipped in white fur, claws that alternated black, ivory, black, ivory.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 22, 2010

Ivory may not be so white as snow, but the whole Arctic continent does not make ivory black.

From The Defendant by G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton

The draperies are in most resplendent ruby, sapphire, emerald, ivory, black and orange.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 3 "Electrostatics" to "Engis" by Various

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