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Webster 1913 Edition

Ivory

I′vo-ry

(ī′vō̍-ry̆)
,
Noun.
;
pl.
Ivories
(#)
.
[OE.
ivori
, F.
ivoire
, fr. L.
eboreus
made of ivory, fr.
ebur
,
eboris
, ivory, cf. Skr.
ibha
elephant. Cf.
Eburnean
.]
1.
The hard, white, opaque, fine-grained substance constituting the tusks of the elephant. It is a variety of dentine, characterized by the minuteness and close arrangement of the tubes, as also by their double flexure. It is used in manufacturing articles of ornament or utility.
☞ Ivory is the name commercially given not only to the substance constituting the tusks of the elephant, but also to that of the tusks of the hippopotamus and walrus, the hornlike tusk of the narwhal, etc.
2.
The tusks themselves of the elephant, etc.
3.
Any carving executed in ivory.
Mollett.
4.
pl.
Teeth;
as, to show one’s
ivories
.
[Slang]
Ivory black
.
See under
Black
,
Noun.
–
Ivory gull
(Zool.)
,
a white Arctic gull (
Larus eburneus
).
–
Ivory nut
(Bot.)
,
the nut of a species of palm, the
Phytephas macroarpa
, often as large as a hen's egg. When young the seed contains a fluid, which gradually hardness into a whitish, close-grained, albuminous substance, resembling the finest ivory in texture and color, whence it is called
vegetable ivory
. It is wrought into various articles, as buttons, chessmen, etc. The palm is found in New Grenada. A smaller kind is the fruit of the
Phytephas microarpa
. The nuts are known in commerce as Corosso nuts.
–
Ivory palm
(Bot.)
,
the palm tree which produces ivory nuts.
–
Ivory shell
(Zool.)
,
any species of
Eburna
, a genus of marine gastropod shells, having a smooth surface, usually white with red or brown spots.
–
Vegetable ivory
,
the meat of the ivory nut. See
Ivory nut
(above).

Webster 1828 Edition

Ivory

I'VORY

,
Noun.
[L. ebur.] The tusk of an elephant, a hard, solid substance, of a fine white color. This tooth is sometimes six or seven feet in length, hollow from the base to a certain highth, and filled with a compact medullary substance, seeming to contain a great number of glands. The ivory of Ceylon and Achem does not become yellow in wearing, and hence is preferred to that of Guinea.

I'VORY

,
Adj.
Consisting of ivory; as an ivory comb.

Definition 2024

Ivory

Ivory

See also: ivory

English

Proper noun

Ivory

  1. A male or female given name

ivory

ivory

See also: Ivory

English

An ivory decoration (1)-(3)

Noun

ivory ‎(countable and uncountable, plural ivories)

  1. (uncountable) The hard white form of dentine which forms the tusks of elephants, walruses and other animals.
  2. A creamy white colour, the colour of ivory.
    ivory colour:    
  3. Something made from or resembling ivory.
  4. (collective singular or in plural) The teeth.
  5. (collective singular or in plural) The keys of a piano.
  6. (slang) A white person.

Translations

See also

Adjective

ivory ‎(not comparable)

  1. Made of ivory.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 10, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      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.
  2. Resembling or having the colour of ivory.
    • 1938, Interior Decoration To-day (page 132)
      The walls and ceiling of this drawing-room in Montague Square are painted ivory.

Translations

Derived terms

Related terms

See also

Etymology

From Middle English ivorie, from Anglo-Norman ivurie, from Latin eboreus ‎(“in or of ivory”) adjective of ebur ‎(“ivory”) (genitive eboris), from Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ ‎(yēb, “elephant”), from Egyptian 3bw.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaɪvəɹi/
  • Hyphenation: i‧vo‧ry

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