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ivory
[ ahy-vuh-ree, ahy-vree ]
noun
- the hard white substance, a variety of dentin, composing the main part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, 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.
- 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.
- a creamy or yellowish white.
- a smooth paper finish produced by coating with beeswax before calendering.
adjective
- consisting or made of ivory.
- of the color ivory.
Ivory
1/ ˈaɪvərɪ /
noun
- IvoryJames1928MUSFILMS AND TV: director 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)
ivory
2/ ˈaɪvərɪ; -vrɪ /
noun
- a hard smooth creamy white variety of dentine that makes up a major part of the tusks of elephants, walruses, and similar animals
- ( as modifier )
ivory ornaments
- a tusk made of ivory
- a yellowish-white colour; cream
- ( as adjective )
ivory shoes
- a substance resembling elephant tusk
- an ornament, etc, made of ivory
- black ivory obsolete.black ivory Black slaves collectively
ivory
/ ī′və-rē /
- 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.
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Derived Forms
- ˈivory-ˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From
- ivo·ry·like adjective
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Word History and Origins
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Word History and Origins
Origin of ivory1
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Example Sentences
Nearly two dozen species, including the iconic ivory-billed woodpecker and several kinds of freshwater mussels, were declared extinct this week by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, after years of surveys failed to turn up any of them.
These pretty wooden pumpkins, which come in a set that includes ivory and sage shades, look like the real thing.
In 1924, famed Cornell University ornithologist Arthur “Doc” Allen took the world’s first photograph of the ivory bill in Florida — just days before two collectors shot the mating pair.
I set about cleaning, dipping a rag into a bowl of milk and carefully wiping down the ivory keys.
Milk, according to ’70s-era design magazines, made ivory, well, ivory-er, and I was hard at work when my father stumbled onto the scene.
Soon his coffers were overflowing with revenue from rubber, palm oil, and ivory.
These goods were probably exchanged with Gedi inhabitants for animal skins and ivory.
The new regs say: “Personal possession of legally acquired items containing elephant ivory will remain legal.”
“We can only save African elephants if China and Japan ban the ivory trade,” Thornton told me.
Today, ivory prices are at record highs, having tripled since that 2008 auction, up to around $1,500 a pound.
Stradiuarius made a few instruments inlaid with ebony and ivory round the edges.
Her Nazarites were whiter than snow, purer than milk, more ruddy than the old ivory, fairer than the sapphire.
Gwynne thought her a creature of infinite possibilities, beside whom Isabel was a statue in ivory.
Of course, it was not smoke obscuring the moon, she decided; it was a lamp, upheld by an ivory figure—a lamp with a Chinese shade.
The Chinese possess marvellous skill in carving ivory, tortoiseshell, and wood.
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