Ebon
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Ebony; an ebony tree. poetic
- 1 Made of ebony. poetic
"“A stranger knight,” sayd he, “unknowne by name, / But knowne by fame, and by an Hebene speare […].”"
- 2 Black in colour. literary, poetic
"...flowers stood beside, in an alabaster vase—exotics, that say, "our growth has been precious." A lute leant against the ebon stand; but the face of the lady wore the expression of deep and touching sorrow."
- 3 Having dark skin; black. literary, offensive
"Woona had silently and swiftly backed away; and her ebon face, Ursula saw, had changed into leaden flabbiness with some horrible fear."
- 1 of a very dark black wordnet
Example
More examples"“A stranger knight,” sayd he, “unknowne by name, / But knowne by fame, and by an Hebene speare […].”"
Etymology
From Old French eban (modern ébène), from Latin ebenus, from Ancient Greek ἔβενος (ébenos, “ebony tree”).
Related phrases
More for "ebon"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.