ebony

noun eb·o·ny \ ˈe-bə-nē \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of ebony

plural ebonies

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

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Recent Examples of ebony from the Web

There is some fine Saharan sand in a tiny clay pot, an ebony walking stick, two carved Moroccan chairs with red leather seats, a white T-shirt signed by Andy Warhol.

— amy wallace, GQ, "Walton Goggins’s L.A. Home Is an Always-Changing Collage of Stuff," 14 Mar. 2018
In its shadow, sea lions splash in the shallows, their distinctive barks intermingled with the crashing waves, as scarlet Sally Lightfoot crabs scuttle along the ebony shoreline and Galápagos hawks survey the scene from above.

— alexandra kirkman, Fortune, "Visit the Galapagos Like a Royal," 23 June 2018
Loggers also cut swaths of royal ebony, mahogany, and white oak for export and for coal production.

— shanna baker, Smithsonian, "The Quest to Preserve the Last of Castro’s Crocodiles," 21 June 2018
Play some tunes: Dials controlled the volume and tuning, with a nice ebony plate adding a touch of class to the truck world.

— scott sturgis, Philly.com, "Aging Tacoma loads of fun but has an unexpected downside," 12 Mar. 2018
Established in 1735, The House of Garrard, which also functioned as silversmiths, received its first royal commission from Frederick, Prince of Wales (a black ebony teapot handle) that same year.

— amy tara koch, New York Times, "A Road Map to Shopping Like a Royal in London," 9 May 2018
Researchers have now sequenced the genomes of enough people around the world to identify gene variants that are most responsible for our rich palette of skin colors from pale to ebony.

— steven austad, AL.com, "'Cheddar Man' shows that race is only skin deep," 17 Feb. 2018
Then contouring went mainstream and products started arriving at my desk in dark chocolate and ebony shades deep enough to get the effect that many fair-skinned women turn to bronzer for.

— jessica cruel, SELF, "I Found a Bronzer That Actually Shows Up on My Dark Skin," 23 May 2018
The 2019 Enclave line goes on sale in late summer with just minor content updates, including an auto-heated steering wheel and a new ebony interior theme for Avenir models.

— mark maynard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "2018 Buick Enclave Avenir: French flair for working-class luxury," 11 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ebony.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of ebony

probably from Late Latin hebeninus of ebony, from Greek ebeninos, from ebenos ebony, from Egyptian hbnj

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1597

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

ebony

adjective

Definition of ebony

1 : made of or resembling ebony

2 : black, dark

See ebony defined for English-language learners

Examples of ebony in a Sentence

the ebony loudspeakers on their chrome stands look very sleek and modern

Recent Examples of ebony from the Web

Calder would take a break from sculptures and mobiles to craft a silver milk skimmer with a spiderweb design or an ebony toilet paper holder shaped like a hand.

— jennie yabroff, Town & Country, "Inside Alexander Calder's New England Home," 20 Oct. 2017
The white-walled living room features ebony wood floors and a wall fireplace.

— neal j. leitereg, latimes.com, "Jared Leto gets his price and more for Cahuenga Pass pad," 15 July 2017
Today brunettes, redheads, and ebony-haired beauties all lay claim to their place in the sun.

— leslie camhi, Vogue, "Spring’s Bold Statement Hair: Show Your Colors," 4 Feb. 2014
That's owing to the fact that 10 Roam is Odin's first incense fragrance, with smokey base notes rooted in resin, but also coconut milk and ebony wood.

— jonathan evans, Esquire, "10 Roam by Odin Fragrances," 3 May 2013
Brick arches, ebony-paneled walls and murals of drinking monks.

— anya yurchyshyn, Esquire, ""Today You Will Put On Blue Egyptian Stockings"- New Fiction* from Rozalia Jovanovic," 8 Sep. 2008

First Known Use of ebony

1597

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

ebony Synonyms

EBONY Defined for English Language Learners

ebony

noun

Definition of ebony for English Language Learners

: a hard, heavy wood that comes from tropical trees

ebony

adjective

Definition of ebony for English Language Learners

: made of or resembling ebony
: very dark or black

EBONY Defined for Kids

ebony

noun eb·o·ny \ ˈe-bə-nē \

Definition of ebony for Students

plural ebonies

: a hard heavy blackish wood that comes from tropical trees

ebony

adjective

Definition of ebony for Students

1 : made of or like ebony

an ebony table

2 : very dark or black

Learn More about ebony

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for ebony Spanish Central: Translation of ebony Nglish: Translation of ebony for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of ebony for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about ebony

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ebony

Definition of ebony

Recent Examples of ebony from the Web

Origin and Etymology of ebony

Other Seed Plant Terms

ebony

Definition of ebony

Examples of ebony in a Sentence

Recent Examples of ebony from the Web

First Known Use of ebony

ebony Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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EBONY Defined for English Language Learners

ebony

Definition of ebony for English Language Learners

ebony

Definition of ebony for English Language Learners

EBONY Defined for Kids

ebony

Definition of ebony for Students

ebony

Definition of ebony for Students

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