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ivory

[ahy-vuh-ree, ahy-vree]

Example Sentences Origin

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noun

the hard white substance, a variety of dentin, composing the main part of the tusks of the elephant, walrus, etc.

this substance when taken from a dead animal and used to make carvings, billiard balls, etc.

some substance resembling this.

an article made of this substance, as a carving or a billiard ball.

a tusk, as of an elephant.

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dentin of any kind.

Slang. a tooth, or the teeth.

ivories, Slang.

the keys of a piano or of a similar keyboard instrument.

dice.

Also called vegetable ivory. the hard endosperm of the ivory nut, used for ornamental purposes, for buttons, etc.

10.

a creamy or yellowish white.

11.

a smooth paper finish produced by coating with beeswax before calendering.

COLLAPSE

adjective

12.

consisting or made of ivory.

13.

of the color ivory.

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Ivory is always a great word to know.

So is snollygoster. Does it mean:

a clever, unscrupulous person

an awkward and unlucky person for whom things never turn out right

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Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English < Old French ivurie < Latin eboreus (adj.), equivalent to ebor- (stem of ebur) ivory + -eus adj. suffix; see -eous

Related forms

i·vo·ry·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To ivory

Example Sentences

Reacting to criticism from environmental groups, eBay has banned the sale of ivory on its site.

But the conference will also ponder a number of questions about the ivory tower itself.

Last week's sale was entirely made up from his holdings of carved ivory and rhinoceros horn.

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Reacting to criticism from environmental groups, eBay has banned the sale of ivory on its site.

But the conference will also ponder a number of questions about the ivory tower itself.

Last week's sale was entirely made up from his holdings of carved ivory and rhinoceros horn.

Poachers hack off the animal's face to remove its ivory tusks-which are all the illegal hunters value-and leave the.

The shark flashed a jagged smile of ivory saw teeth and then slipped back into the sea.

He was absolutely not shut away in some ivory tower somewhere.

The handles of the delicate tools on the right are made from ivory.

But the real world eventually penetrates even the ivory tower.

It also attracts poachers who target the elephants for ivory.

Well, postman, it is only fair to note that violence in ivory towers is extremely low nowadays.

It was really ornate with the ivory keys peeling off.

We, unwashed groundlings patiently await your return from the great ivory tower.

Chinese demand for ivory has driven up elephant poaching.

Douglas-Hamilton blames the re-opening of the ivory trade.

Ivory tower types should not be in charge of economies.

That's one of the reasons the myth of the academic scientist in the ivory tower has always puzzled me.

Look at the ivory trade… as long as there was demand there was supply.

Evangelicals have been purged from the ivory tower more thoroughly than any other religious group.

Males use the tusks to battle one another, but the ivory has also attracted violence of a far more dangerous sort.

It's only as complicated as you wish to make it, so that you can stay in your ivory towers of pseudo-science.

The problem is that their ideas tend to stay in their ivory towers.

Wholesale slaughter fueled by the international ivory trade has left only about ten thousand elephants alive in the region today.

For every case of ivory that is discovered by police it is anyone's guess how many slip through customs.

Poachers killed many elephants for their ivory tusks, because ivory can be sold for a lot of money.

We are in an economic crisis if you will get your head out of the ivory clouds.

Poachers kill the elephants for their valuable ivory tusks.

The debate is not confined to ivory tower scientists.

Often ancient ivory was found poking from the snow, but this tusk hunter probably had to dig for his.

Unfortunately their ivory has gotten them into a lot of trouble.

Because ivory is so valuable to some humans, many elephants have been killed for their tusks.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

ivory (ˈaɪvərɪ, -vrɪ)

—n , pl -ries
1.	a. a hard smooth creamy white variety of dentine that makes up a major part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, and similar animals
	b. (as modifier): ivory ornaments
2.	a tusk made of ivory
3.	a. a yellowish-white colour; cream
	b. (as adjective): ivory shoes
4.	a substance resembling elephant tusk
5.	an ornament, etc, made of ivory
6.	obsolete black ivory Black slaves collectively

[C13: from Old French ivurie, from Latin evoreus made of ivory, from ebur ivory; related to Greek elephas ivory, elephant]

'ivory-like

—*adj*

Ivory (ˈaɪvərɪ)

—n
	James. born 1928, US film director. With the producer Ismael Merchant, his films include Shakespeare Wallah (1964), Heat and Dust (1983), A Room With a View (1986), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

ivory

1181, Anglo-Fr. ivorie, from O.N.Fr. ivurie (12c.), from L. eboreus "of ivory," from ebur (gen. eboris) "ivory," probably via Phoenician from an African source (cf. Egyptian ab "elephant," Coptic ebu "ivory"). Replaced O.E. elpendban, lit. "elephant bone." Applied in slang to articles made from it, such

EXPAND

as dice (1830) and piano keys (1854). As a color, esp. in ref. to human skin, it is attested from 1590. Ivories as slang for "teeth" dates from 1782. Ivory tower (1911) first used 1837 in Fr. (tour d'ivorie) by critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) with reference to the poet Alfred de Vigny, whom he accused of excessive aloofness.

"Et Vigny, plus secret, Comme en sa tour d'ivoire, avant midi rentrait." [Saine-Beuve, "Pensées d'Août, a M. Villemain," 1837]

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

ivory (ī'və-rē) Pronunciation Key
The hard, smooth, yellowish-white substance forming the teeth and tusks of certain animals, such as the tusks of elephants and walruses and the teeth of certain whales. Ivory is composed of dentin.

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Ivory definition

(Heb. pl. shenhabbim, the "tusks of elephants") was early used in decorations by the Egyptians, and a great trade in it was carried on by the Assyrians (Ezek. 27:6; Rev. 18:12). It was used by the Phoenicians to ornament the box-wood rowing-benches of their galleys, and Hiram's skilled workmen made Solomon's throne of ivory (1 Kings 10:18). It was brought by the caravans of Dedan (Isa. 21:13), and from the East Indies by the navy of Tarshish (1 Kings 10:22). Many specimens of ancient Egyptian and Assyrian ivory-work have been preserved. The word _habbim_ is derived from the Sanscrit _ibhas_, meaning "elephant," preceded by the Hebrew article (ha); and hence it is argued that Ophir, from which it and the other articles mentioned in 1 Kings 10:22 were brought, was in India.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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ivory palm vegetable ivory Abidjan Akan animal black billiards

Slang

ivory tower

tickle the ivories

Matching Quote

"The only refuge left to us was the poet's ivory tower, which we climbed, ever higher, to isolate ourselves from the mob."

-Gérard De Nerval

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