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vegetable ivory

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i⋅vo⋅ry

  [ahy-vuh-ree, ahy-vree] noun, plural -ries, adjective
–noun
1. the hard white substance, a variety of dentin, composing the main part of the tusks of the elephant, walrus, etc.
2. this substance when taken from a dead animal and used to make carvings, billiard balls, etc.
3. some substance resembling this.
4. an article made of this substance, as a carving or a billiard ball.
5. a tusk, as of an elephant.
6. dentin of any kind.
7. Slang. a tooth, or the teeth.
8. ivories, Slang.
a. the keys of a piano or of a similar keyboard instrument.
b. dice.
9. 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.
–adjective
12. consisting or made of ivory.
13. of the color ivory.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < OF ivurie < L eboreus (adj.), equiv. to ebor- (s. 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. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To vegetable ivory
vegetable ivory  
n.  A hard ivorylike material obtained from the ivory nut and used in making small objects such as buttons.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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 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]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: ivo·ry
Pronunciation: 'Iv-(&-)rE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ries
: the hard creamy-white modifieddentin that composes the tusks of a tusked mammal and especially the elephant —ivory adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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