vegetable ivory

American  

noun

1. ivory.

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vegetable ivory British  

noun

1. the hard whitish material obtained from the endosperm of the ivory nut: used to make buttons, ornaments, etc

2. another name for the ivory nut

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Etymology

Origin of vegetable ivory

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Complementing the regal black-and-white plumages are hand-carved wooden beads made from driftwood found in the Luangwa’s lush riverbeds, vintage Zambian coins collected in Mfuwe markets, and vegetable ivory seeds sourced from towering tagua palms.

From National Geographic • May 17, 2018

So hard in fact that they are also known as "vegetable ivory".

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2017

If jewelry is what you are after, don’t miss Tagua 950, a tiny shop with a nice collection of bracelets, necklaces and earrings made from tagua nut, a rain forest seed known as vegetable ivory.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2014

At Tagua 950, I scored a chunky bracelet made of tagua, a rain forest seed known as vegetable ivory.

From New York Times • Sep. 12, 2014

The forests yield cinchona bark, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, and vegetable ivory.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 2: Ebert to Estremadura by Various