Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Ivory

//ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi// adj, name, noun, slang

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Made of ivory. not-comparable

    "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. 2
    Resembling or having the colour of ivory. not-comparable

    "The walls and ceiling of this drawing-room in Montague Square are painted ivory."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Old French.
  2. 2
    A male given name from English.
  3. 3
    A female given name from English.

    "Charlie Parrott wasn't fooled and told Linny to walk softly. The girl's name had been picked from a baby-name book which reflected a brief fashion of naming girls for expensive wedding gifts of an earlier time—Linen, Silver, Crystal, Ivory."

Noun
  1. 1
    The hard white form of dentin which forms the tusks of elephants, walruses and other animals. uncountable

    "“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."

  2. 2
    a shade of white the color of bleached bones wordnet
  3. 3
    A creamy white color, the color of ivory. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    a hard smooth ivory colored dentine that makes up most of the tusks of elephants and walruses wordnet
  5. 5
    Something made from or resembling ivory. countable, uncountable
Show 4 more definitions
  1. 6
    The teeth. collective, countable, plural, singular, uncountable

    "Ye forgot some o' yer ivories, didn't ye, on th' grass?"

  2. 7
    The keys of a piano; or, the white keys, as opposed to the black keys (ebonies). collective, countable, plural, singular, uncountable

    "to tickle the ivories"

  3. 8
    A white person. countable, ethnic, slang, slur, uncountable
  4. 9
    A die (object bearing numbers, thrown in games of chance). countable, informal, uncountable

    "c. 1846, Alexandre Dumas (translated by William Barrow), The Three Musketeers The triumphant Englishman did not give himself the trouble even to shake the dice; and, so sure was he of winning, that he threw the ivory on the table without looking."

Etymology

Etymology 1

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”).

Etymology 2

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”).

Etymology 3

The surname is habitational from Ivry in Normandy, and in some cases patronymic from a diminutive of Ivor. The modern given name is associated with ivory.

See also for "ivory"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: ivory