ebon, ebony
(adjective) of a very dark black
ebony, ebony tree, Diospyros ebenum
(noun) tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork
ebony
(noun) hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keys
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Ebony
A female given name from English.
• Boney, Boyne, Bynoe, boney
ebony (usually uncountable, plural ebonies)
(uncountable) A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
(countable) A tree that yields such wood.
(countable and uncountable) A deep, dark black colour.
(slang, countable) A black key on a piano or other keyboard instrument.
ebony (comparative more ebony, superlative most ebony)
Made of ebony wood.
A deep, dark black colour.
Dark-skinned; black; especially in reference to African-Americans.
• Boney, Boyne, Bynoe, boney
Source: Wiktionary
Eb"on*y, n.; pl. Ebonies. Etym: [F. ébène, L. ebenus, fr. Gr. hobnim, pl. Cf. Ebon.]
Definition: A hard, heavy, and durable wood, which admits of a fine polish or gloss. The usual color is black, but it also occurs red or green.
Note: The finest black ebony is the heartwood of Diospyros reticulata, of the Mauritius. Other species of the same genus (D. Ebenum, Melanoxylon, etc.), furnish the ebony of the East Indies and Ceylon. The West Indian green ebony is from a leguminous tree (Brya Ebenus), and from the Excæcaria glandulosa.
Eb"on*y, a.
Definition: Made of ebony, or resembling ebony; black; as, an ebony countenance. This ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling. Poe.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
27 April 2024
(adjective) remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree or magnitude or effect; “a great crisis”; “had a great stake in the outcome”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
