ivory

See also: Ivory

English

An ivory decoration (1)-(3)

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 yb (“ivory, Elephantine”) (compare Coptic ⲓⲏⲃ (iēb, “Elephantine”)), from Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory, Elephantine”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɪvəɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: i‧vo‧ry

Noun

ivory (countable and uncountable, plural ivories)

1. (uncountable) The hard white form of dentin which forms the tusks of elephants, walruses and other animals.
2. A creamy white color, the color of ivory.

   ivory:  

3. Something made from or resembling ivory.
4. (collective singular or in plural) The teeth.
5. (collective singular or in plural) The keys of a piano.

   to tickle the ivories

6. (slang) A white person.

Translations

material

• Afrikaans: ivoor
• Akkadian: 𒅗 (šinnu(m))
• Arabic: عَاج m (ʕāj)

  Egyptian Arabic: عاج m (ʕāg)

• Armenian: փղոսկր (hy) (pʻġoskr)
• Belarusian: слано́вая косць f (slanóvaja koscʹ)
• Bikol Central: gading
• Bulgarian: слоно́ва кост f (slonóva kost)
• Burmese: ဆင်စွယ် (my) (hcangcwai)
• Catalan: ivori (ca) m, vori (ca) m, marfil (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 象牙 (zh) (xiàngyá)

• Classical Nahuatl: tlanomitl, mazātl elefante īcōātlan
• Crimean Tatar: fil tişi
• Czech: slonovina (cs) f
• Danish: elfenben (da) n
• Dutch: ivoor (nl) n
• Egyptian: (ꜣbw)
• Esperanto: eburo
• Faroese: fílabein n
• Finnish: norsunluu (fi)
• French: ivoire (fr) m
• Galician: marfil m
• German: Elfenbein (de) n
• Greek: φίλντισι (el) n (fílntisi)

  Ancient: ἐλέφας m (eléphas)

• Gujarati: હાથીદાંત (hāthīdā̃t)
• Hebrew: שֶׁנְהָב (he) m (shenhav)
• Hindi: हाथीदांत m (hāthīdānt), हाथी दांत m (hāthī dānt), गजदन्त (hi) m (gajdant)
• Hungarian: elefántcsont (hu)
• Icelandic: fílabein (is) n, fílsbein n
• Ido: ivoro (io)
• Indonesian: gading (id)
• Irish: eabhar m
• Italian: avorio (it) m
• Japanese: 象牙 (ja) (ぞうげ, zōge)
• Kalmyk: занын ясн (zanyn yasn)
• Khmer: ទន្ត (km) (tŏən), ភ្លុក (km) (phluk)
• Korean: 상아 (ko) (sang'a) (象牙 (ko))
• Latin: ebur (la) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Luxembourgish: Elfebeen n
• Macedonian: слонова коска f (slonova koska)
• Malay: gading
• Maori: rei
• Mongolian: зааны яс (zaany jas)
• Norman: iviéthe m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: elfenbein n, elfenben n

  Nynorsk: elfenbein n, filsbein n (rare)

• Old English: elpendbān n
• Old French: olifan m
• Persian: عاج (fa) ('âj), پیلسته (fa) (piloste)
• Polish: kość słoniowa (pl) f
• Portuguese: marfim (pt) m
• Romanian: fildeș (ro) n, ivoriu (ro) n
• Romansch: ivur m
• Russian: слоно́вая кость f (slonóvaja kostʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: marfilu

• Sassarese: aboriu
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: слоновача f

  Roman: slonovača (sh) f, bjȅlokōst (sh) f

• Slovak: slonovina f
• Slovene: slonovina (sl) f
• Spanish: marfil (es) m
• Swedish: elfenben (sv) n
• Tagalog: garing
• Thai: งาช้าง (ngaa cháang)
• Tibetan: བལ་སོ (bal so)
• Turkish: fildişi (tr)
• Ukrainian: слоно́ва кі́стка f (slonóva kístka)
• Urdu: ہاتھی دانت (hāthī dānt)
• Vietnamese: ngà voi (vi), ngà (vi)
• Volapük: vior (vo)
• Walloon: ivwere (wa) m
• Waray-Waray: gading
• Westrobothnian: ,
• Yiddish: העלפֿאַנדביין (helfandbeyn)

colour

• Bulgarian: слонова кост (slonova kost)
• Catalan: ivori (ca), vori (ca), marfil (ca) m
• Dutch: ivoorkleur (nl) f
• Finnish: norsunluunvalkoinen
• French: ivoire (fr)
• Galician: marfil m
• German: Elfenbein (de) n, Elfenbeinfarbe f
• Ido: ivoreo, ivorkoloro
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: dath an eabhair m
• Malay: gading
• Romanian: alb-ivoriu
• Russian: слоно́вая кость f (slonóvaja kostʹ), цвет слоно́вой ко́сти m (cvet slonóvoj kósti)
• Spanish: ebúrneo (es)
• Swedish: elfenbensfärg c, elfenbensvitt n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Breton: olifant m, ivor m (1)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} gading (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} ebore
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} ebur (la)

See also

• Galalith

Adjective

ivory (not comparable)

1. Made of ivory.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 10, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     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. Resembling or having the colour of ivory.
   • 1938, Interior Decoration To-day (page 132)

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

Derived terms

• ivory-billed woodpecker
• ivory black
• Ivory Coast
• ivory gull
• ivory nut
• ivory-nut palm
• ivory palm
• ivory shell
• ivory tower
• ivory-white
• vegetable ivory

 

Related terms

• chryselephantine
• eburnation

Translations

made of ivory

• Bulgarian: от слонова кост (ot slonova kost)
• Czech: slonovinový
• Dutch: ivoren (nl)
• Finnish: norsunluinen (fi)
• German: elfenbeinern, Elfenbein-
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐλεφάντινος (elephántinos)

• Ido: ivora (io), ivorala
• Irish: eabhair
• Italian: eburneo (it), avorio (it)
• Latin: eburneus (la)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: gading
• Portuguese: ebóreo, ebúrneo (pt), de marfim
• Romanian: de fildeș, din fildeș
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: marfilu

• Sassarese: aboriu
• Slovak: slonovinový
• Spanish: de marfil, ebúrneo (es) m
• Swedish: elfenbens-, Elfenbens-

having colour of ivory

• Dutch: ivoorkleurig (nl), ivoorkleurige (nl)
• Finnish: norsunluunvalkoinen
• German: elfenbeinfarben (de), elfenbeinfarbig
• Ido: ivorea
• Irish: eabhartha
• Italian: eburneo (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: gading
• Romanian: alb-ivoriu
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: marfilu

• Sassarese: aboriu
• Swedish: elfenbensfärgad

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} ebura
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} eboree
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} viorik

See also

• odontolite
• scrimshaw
• whalebone
• Appendix:Colors

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Middle English

Noun

ivory

1. Alternative form of yvory