ivory means made of ivory.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, ivory ranks #8,364 of 17,113 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #9,189 of 17,112 for Most Whimsical Words, #12,845 of 17,115 for Scariest Words.
ivory is pronounced /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/.
Why “ivory” is a great word
Made of or resembling the hard, creamy-white material from the tusks of elephants and other animals. From Middle English yvory, ivorie, from Anglo-Norman ivurie, from Latin eboreus ("in or of ivory"), an adjective from ebur, eboris ("ivory"), from Demotic Egyptian yb ("ivory, Elephantine"), from Egyptian ꜣbw ("elephant, ivory, Elephantine"), from Proto-Afroasiatic *leb-. Unlike "bone" (the structural frame of vertebrates) or "cream" (a pale, dairy-derived hue), "ivory" denotes a substance and a color steeped in both material rarity and moral weight. It is the cool, yielding smoothness of a piano key under the finger, the forbidden gleam of a carved tusk in shadowed light, and the faintly sweet-sick scent of dust in an old violin case—a shade named for a luxury that speaks of erosion, both of ecosystems and of innocence.
Etymology
From Middle English yvory, ivorie, from Anglo-Norman ivurie, from Latin eboreus (“in or of ivory”) adjective of ebur (“ivory”) (genitive eboris), from Demotic Egyptian yb (“ivory, Elephantine”) (compare Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ (iēb, “Elephantine”)), from Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory, Elephantine”), from Proto-Afroasiatic *leb-. Displaced native Old English elpendbān (literally “elephant bone”).
adj
- Made of ivory.e.g.“Men that I knew around Wapatomac didn't wear high, shiny plug hats, nor yeller spring overcoats, nor carry canes with ivory heads as big as a catboat's anchor, as you might say.”
- Resembling or having the colour of ivory.e.g.“The walls and ceiling of this drawing-room in Montague Square are painted ivory.”
name
- A surname from Old French.
- A male given name from English.
- A female given name from English.
noun
- The hard white form of dentin which forms the tusks of elephants, walruses and other animals.e.g.““Leave the ivory!” he cried. “Leave the ivory! Dead men have no use for ivory!” Some of the Manyuema started to lay down their loads, but this was altogether too much for the avaricious Arabs.”
- A creamy white color, the color of ivory.
- Something made from or resembling ivory.
- The teeth.e.g.“Ye forgot some o' yer ivories, didn't ye, on th' grass?”
- The keys of a piano; or, the white keys, as opposed to the black keys (ebonies).e.g.“to tickle the ivories”
- A white person.
- A die (object bearing numbers, thrown in games of chance).
Words closest in meaning
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