ebony

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eb·on·y

(ĕb′ə-nē)

n. pl. eb·on·ies

1. Any of various tropical Asian or African trees of the genus Diospyros.

2. The wood of such a tree, especially the hard black heartwood of D. ebenum or certain other species, used in cabinetwork and inlaying and for piano keys.

3. The hard dark wood of various other trees.

4. The color black; ebon.

adj.

1. Made of or suggesting ebony.

2. Black in color.

[Probably from Middle English hebenyf, ebony wood, from alteration of Late Latin hebeninus, of ebony, from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos, ebony tree, from Egyptian hbny.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ebony

(ˈɛbənɪ)

n, pl -onies

1. (Plants) any of various tropical and subtropical trees of the genus Diospyros, esp D. ebenum of S India, that have hard dark wood: family Ebenaceae. See also persimmon

2. (Plants) the wood of such a tree, much used for cabinetwork

3. (Colours)

a. a black colour, sometimes with a dark olive tinge

b. (as adjective): an ebony skin.

[C16 hebeny, from Late Latin ebeninus from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos ebony, of Egyptian origin]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

eb•on•y

(ˈɛb ə ni)

n., pl. -on•ies,
adj. n.

1. a hard, heavy, durable, dark wood from tropical trees of the African and Asian genus Diospyros, of the ebony family, used for cabinetwork, ornamental objects, etc.

2. any tree yielding such wood.

3. a deep, lustrous black.

adj.

4. made of ebony.

5. of a deep, lustrous black.

[1590–1600; earlier hebeny; see ebon; -y perhaps after ivory]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	ebony - a very dark black coal black, jet black, pitch black, soot black, sable black, blackness, inkiness - the quality or state of the achromatic color of least lightness (bearing the least resemblance to white)
	2.	ebony - hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keys Diospyros ebenum, ebony tree, ebony - tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork wood - the hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
	3.	ebony - tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork Diospyros ebenum, ebony tree Diospyros, genus Diospyros - a genus of trees or shrubs that have beautiful and valuable wood ebony - hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keys tree - a tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
Adj.	1.	ebony - of a very dark black ebon achromatic, neutral - having no hue; "neutral colors like black or white"

ebony

adjective black, dark, jet, raven, sable, pitch-black, jet-black, inky, swarthy, coal-black He had rich, soft ebony hair. see shades from black to white

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

ebony

adjective

Of the darkest achromatic visual value:

black, ebon, inky, jet, jetty, onyx, pitch-black, pitchy, sable, sooty.

Translations

ibenholtibenholt-ibenholtsort

ébenfaébenfekete szín

eins og íbenholtíbenholt, íbenviîur, tinnuviîur

ebano

juodmedislabai juodas

melnkoka-melnkoka krāsāmelnkoks

ibenholt

ébano

abanos

эбонитовый

ebenebenovo čierny

abanozkara siyah

乌木似乌木的黑檀

ebony

[ˈebənɪ]

A. N → ébano m

B. CPD → de ébano

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ebony

[ˈɛbəni]

n → ébène f

modif [box, cabinet] → en ébène, d'ébène

adj (= dark) [skin] → d'ébènee-book ebook [ˈiːbʊk] n → livre m électronique

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ebony

n → Ebenholz nt

adj colour → schwarz wie Ebenholz; material → aus Ebenholz; hair, face → ebenholzfarben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ebony

[ˈɛbənɪ] n → ebano

ebony

(ˈebəni)

1. noun, adjective (of) a type of wood, usually black and almost as heavy and hard as stone.

2. adjective black as ebony.

References in classic literature ?

"Would you like Ebony?" said she; "he is as black as ebony."

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The frame of the window was made of fine black ebony, and as she sat looking out upon the snow, she pricked her finger, and three drops of blood fell upon it.

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She floated again from out the light and into the gloom (which deepened momently) and again her shadow fell from her into the ebony water, and became absorbed into its blackness.

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Now the figure of the glorious woman held a rod in either hand, and the rod in her right hand was white and of ivory, and the rod in her left hand was black and of ebony. And as those who came up before her throne greeted her, so she pointed now with the wand of ivory in her right hand, and now with the wand of ebony in her left hand.

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Several had already fallen prey to old Sabor, and because the jungle was so infested with these fierce and bloodthirsty cats, and with lions and leopards, the ebony warriors hesitated to trust themselves far from the safety of their palisades.

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I am the daughter of the king of the Ebony Isle, of whose fame you surely must have heard.

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Only in the colour of their skin did they differ materially from us; that is of the appearance of polished ebony, and odd as it may seem for a Southerner to say it, adds to rather than detracts from their marvellous beauty.

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There was a boy called Luard between whom and Philip a friendship had arisen, and one day, when they were playing together in the school-room, Luard began to perform some trick with an ebony pen-holder of Philip's.

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The hand that was laid on his shoulder was now placed on the lips of a person with an ebony skin, with eyes of jade and with an astrakhan cap on his head: the Persian!

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Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the raven "Nevermore."

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Then the ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling, By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore, "Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven, Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore-- Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!" Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

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"Here it is," said Aramis, taking a small key from his breast and opening a little ebony box inlaid with mother of pearl, "here it is.

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