ivory

B1 Topic:Materials & Substances

US /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #11848

Meanings

1

noun
The hard, smooth, white substance that forms the tusks of elephants

The piano keys were once made of ivory.
2

noun
A creamy white colour, like that of bleached bone

The walls were painted a soft ivory.
3

adj
Having the creamy white colour of ivory

She wore an ivory dress to the wedding.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the hard, smooth, white... tusk

2 noun · a creamy white colour, like... bone

Word family

Forms ivories

Derived forms ivorideivoriedivorineivorinessivoristivoroidivory-billivory-pounderivory-thumperivory-whiteivorybillivorylike

Related forms chryselephantineeburnationgalalithodontolitescrimshawwhalebone

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

ivory black
An artist's black pigment traditionally made from charred ivory.

Noun + noun

Simplified etymology

Ivory, recorded from the Middle Ages, derives from Latin ebur, which is related to ancient Egyptian āb or ābu, “elephant.”

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”).

*leb- afa-pro yvory Middle English ivurie xno eboreus Latin yb egx-dem ꜣbw egy

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Materials & Substances

External links

# ivory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 11848

## Meanings
1. The hard, smooth, white substance that forms the tusks of elephants
2. A creamy white colour, like that of bleached bone
3. Having the creamy white colour of ivory

## Examples
- The piano keys were once made of ivory.
- The walls were painted a soft ivory.
- She wore an ivory dress to the wedding.

## Derived Forms
- ivoride
- ivoried
- ivorine
- ivoriness
- ivorist
- ivoroid
- ivory-bill
- ivory-pounder
- ivory-thumper
- ivory-white
- ivorybill
- ivorylike

## Related Forms
- chryselephantine
- eburnation
- galalith
- odontolite
- scrimshaw
- whalebone

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *leb-
- Root: yvory
- Root: ivurie
- Root: eboreus
- Root: yb
- Root: ꜣbw

## 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”).

## AI Etymology
Ivory comes 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”).

## Topics
- Materials & Substances

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