Ebony EB'ONY, n. [L. ebenus.] A species of hard,heavy and durable
wood, which admits of a fine polish or gloss; said to be brought from
Madagascar. The most usual color is black, red or green. The best is a
jet black, free from veins and rind, very heavy, astringent and of an
acrid pungent taste. On burning coals it yields an agreeable perfume,
and when green it readily takes fire from its abundance of fat. It is
wrought into toys, and used for mosaic and inlaid work.
ebony
adj 1: of a very dark black [syn: ebon, ebony]
n 1: a very dark black [syn: coal black, ebony, jet black,
pitch black, sable, soot black]
2: hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in
cabinetwork and for piano keys
3: tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored
heartwood used in cabinetwork [syn: ebony, ebony tree,
Diospyros ebenum]
ebony
1597, from hebenyf (1384), M.E. misreading L. hebenius "of ebony," from
Gk. ebenios, from ebenos "ebony," probably from Egyp. hbnj or another
Sem. source. Fig. use to suggest intense blackness is from 1623.
ebony I. noun (plural-nies)
Etymology: probably from Late Latin hebeninus of ebony, from
Greek ebeninos, from ebenos ebony, from Egyptian hbnjDate: 1597 1. a hard heavy blackish wood yielded by various
tropical chiefly southeast Asian trees (genus Diospyros of the family
Ebenaceae, the ebony family) 2.a. a tree yielding ebony b. any of several trees yielding
wood like ebony
II. adjectiveDate: 1597 1. made of or resembling
ebony 2.black, dark
ebony n. & adj. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a heavy hard dark wood used for furniture. 2 any of various trees of the genus Diospyros producing this. --adj. 1 made of ebony. 2 black like
ebony. Etymology: earlier hebeny f. (h)eben(e) = ebon, perh. after ivory
ebony
1. Ebony is a very hard, heavy, dark-coloured wood.
...a small ebony cabinet.N-UNCOUNT: oft N n
2. Something that is ebony is a very deep black colour. (LITERARY)
He had rich, soft ebony hair.ADJ
ebony
ˈebənɪ n. & adj. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 a heavy hard dark wood
used for furniture. 2 any of various trees of the genus Diospyros producing
this. --adj. 1 made of ebony. 2 black like ebony. [earlier hebeny f. (h)eben(e)
= ebon, perh. after ivory]
Ebony \Eb"on*y\, n.; pl. Ebonies. [F. ['e]b[`e]ne, L. ebenus,
fr. Gr. ?; prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. hobn[=i]m, pl.
Cf. Ebon.]
A hard, heavy, and durable wood, which admits of a fine
polish or gloss. The usual color is black, but it also occurs
red or green.
Note: The finest black ebony is the heartwood of Diospyros
reticulata}, of the Mauritius. Other species of the
same genus ({D. Ebenum}, Melanoxylon, etc.), furnish
the ebony of the East Indies and Ceylon. The West
Indian green ebony is from a leguminous tree ({Brya
Ebenus}), and from the Exc[ae]caria glandulosa.
EBONY
eb'-o-ni (hobhnim (pl. only), vocalization uncertain; compare Arabic abnus):
Mentioned (Eze 27:15) along with ivory as merchandise of Tyre brought
by the men of Dedan. This is the heavy, black, heart-wood of various species
of Diospyros, natives of Southern India and Ceylon; the best kind is obtained
from D. ebenum.
The sap-wood, being white and valueless, is cut away, but the trunks are
sufficiently large to leave blocks of heart-wood 2 ft. in diameter and 10 or
more ft. long. Ebony was used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans,
as well as the Phoenicians, for various purposes; it was frequently inlaid
with ivory. In Europe it has been a favorite for cabinet-making down to
recent times.
E. W. G. Masterman
Ebony
a black, hard wood, brought by the merchants from India to Tyre
(Ezek. 27:15). It is the heart-wood, brought by Diospyros
ebenus, which grows in Ceylon and Southern India.
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