ebony
Other forms: ebonies
Ebony is a very dark black color, or a south Asian tropical tree with hard, dark-colored heartwood. Black piano keys and black chess pieces are often made with ebony.
Used as a noun or adjective, ebony derives from Greek word ebenos, meaning "ebony" and was first used in the 17th century to describe a very dark black color. Cabinetry made out of ebony was very fashionable during the Victorian era because it was imported and considered exotic, but today, because it is considered a threatened species, its uses are limited to small objects, such as animal carvings or parts of musical instruments.
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hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keystype of:woodthe hard fibrous lignified substance under the bark of trees
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tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetworksynonyms: Diospyros ebenum, ebony treetype of:treea tall perennial woody plant having a main trunk and branches forming a distinct elevated crown; includes both gymnosperms and angiosperms
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a very dark blacksynonyms: coal black, jet black, pitch black, sable, soot black
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of a very dark blacksynonyms: ebon
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Vocabulary lists containing ebony
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