Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Ebonies

 - 3 dictionary results

eb⋅on⋅y

  [eb-uh-nee] noun, plural -on⋅ies, adjective
Use Ebonies in a Sentence
–noun
1. a hard, heavy, durable wood, most highly prized when black, from various tropical trees of the genus Diospyros, as D. ebenum of southern India and Sri Lanka, used for cabinetwork, ornamental objects, etc.
2. any tree yielding such wood.
3. any of various similar woods or trees.
4. a deep, lustrous black.
–adjective
5. Also, ebon. made of ebony.
6. of a deep, lustrous black.
Origin:
1590–1600; earlier hebeny; see ebon; -y perh. after ivory
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Ebonies
eb·on·y   (ěb'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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Ebonies on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way