ebony
English meaning: Ebony
Definition
A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
Example
“The statue was carved from a single block of dark, gleaming ebony.”
Another example: “The piano's keys gleamed against the polished ebony of its lid.”
Usage — When, Where & How
A noun for both the dense black tropical wood and, by extension, a deep black colour. Slightly literary when used of colour ('ebony skin', 'ebony and ivory'). In music it names the black keys' material and guitar fingerboards. Neutral-to-elevated register.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Greek 'ebenos', via Latin 'ebenus' and Old French 'eban'; ultimately of Egyptian origin ('hbny').
Synonyms
- achromatic
- colorless
- ebon
- coal black
- soot black
- pitch black
- jet black
- diospyros ebenum
- sable
Antonyms / Opposites
- ivory
Related Words
- spleenwort
- fingerboard
- headstock
- boxwood
- rosewood
- persimmon
- inlay
- inlaid
- frets
- sunburst
Common Collocations
- polished ebony
- ebony wood
- ebony and ivory
- jet-black ebony
- ebony fingerboard
- carved in ebony
Word Forms
ebony (n); ebonies (pl); ebon (adj, literary)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
CC-licensed · free to useVideo
Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B