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

They may be luxury commodities now, but civet coffee, eiderdown, sea silk, vicuña, vegetable ivory, guano and edible bird nests all started as local harvests.

From Washington Post

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

From BBC

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

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

From Project Gutenberg

He was bald—completely bald—his head looked like vegetable ivory, and in despair he consulted a Saville-row physician.

From Project Gutenberg