ebony

plural ebonies

1. uncountableusuallyA hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
2. countableusuallyA tree that yields such wood.

   “You live up the road past the ebony tree, right?” he asked, looking past me.

   2018, Nnedi Okorafor, Who Fears Death, HarperVoyager, page 51

3. countableuncountableusuallyA deep, dark black colour.

   Near-synonyms: onyx, raven

   1 more example

   This round-topped chest, made from white-painted wood and ebony, held clothing, ranging from embroidered robes to linen underwear.

   2026, Guinness World Records Team, Guinness World Records 2027, page 131

   Synonyms: onyx, raven

4. uncountableusuallyDark skin colour.

   At dawn the hunters were off. There were fifty sleek, black warriors, and in their midst, lithe and active as a young forest god, strode Tarzan of the Apes, his brown skin contrasting oddly with the ebony of his companions. Except for color he was one of them.

   1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 130

5. countableusuallyA black key on a piano or other keyboard instrument (as opposed to ivory).

   Ebony and ivory / Live together in perfect harmony / Side by side on my piano keyboard / Oh lord, why don't we?

   1982, Paul McCartney, “Ebony and Ivory”, in Tug of War, performed by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder

   1 more example

   Tony had gone into the storage room and gotten two more standing lamps, one placed near the ebonies and ivories.

   2016, Peter Wendt, Nikki Magee, Lulu.com, page 52

comparative more ebony · superlative most ebony

1. Made of ebony wood.
2. A deep, dark black colour.

   Near-synonyms: onyx, raven

   1 more example

   Seats are trimmed in a grey and blue moquette and tables are finished with grey Vyanide tops, gilt edging and ebony legs.

   1961 February, “New "Mini-Buffets" from Wolverton”, in Trains Illustrated, page 79

   Synonyms: onyx, raven

3. Dark-skinned; black; especially in reference to African-Americans.

   No attempt was made in her new home to discontinue or even to conceal the presence of an ebony mistress and a thriving family of little mulattoes...

   1931, Catherine MacFarlane Carswell, The life of Robert Burns

   2 more examples

   He called the ebony mistress of the establishment to him, and speaking to her kindly and winningly, as any dutiful husband should, told her to make the change, which she did.

   1864, George Adams Fisher, The Yankee conscript: or, Eighteen months in Dixie

   Want to watch my gorgeous ebony friend, Almond Joy, naked and online 24/7? She recently ended a long-term relationship and is now fully enjoying being a 25 year-old single gal in Beverly Hills.

   2004, Alyssa, “Ebony Girls Need Attention”, in alt.sex.escorts (Usenet)

1. A female given name from English.
2. derogatoryA stereotypical African-American woman.