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”). Displaced native Old English elpendbān (literally “elephant bone”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Hyphenation: i‧vo‧ry, ivo‧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.

   Coordinate term: ebony

   to tickle the ivories

6. (slang, ethnic slur) A white person.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:white person

7. (informal) A die (object bearing numbers, thrown in games of chance).
   • 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.

Derived terms

• black ivory
• ivory-bill
• ivory bush coral
• ivory porcelain
• ivory tree
• pink ivory
• purple ivory
• red ivory
• sea ivory
• tickle the ivory
• vegetable ivory tree

 

Translations

material

• Afar: qaag
• Afrikaans: ivoor, elpebeen
• Akkadian: 𒅗 (ZÚ /⁠šinnu(m)⁠/)
• Amharic: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: عَاج (ar) m (ʕāj)

  Egyptian Arabic: عاج m (ʕāg)

• Armenian: փղոսկր (hy) (pʻġoskr)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: слано́вая косць f (slanóvaja koscʹ)
• Bikol Central: gading (bcl)
• Bulgarian: сло́нова кост f (slónova 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
• Estonian: elevandiluu
• Faroese: fílabein n
• Finnish: norsunluu (fi)
• French: ivoire (fr) m
• Galician: marfil (gl) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Elfenbein (de) n
• Greek: φίλντισι (el) n (fílntisi)

  Ancient: ἐλέφας m (eléphas)

• Gujarati: હાથીદાંત ? (hāthīdā̃t)
• Hausa: hauren giwa
• Hawaiian: niho ʻelepani
• 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)
• Kikuyu: mũguongo class 3
• Korean: 상아(象牙) (ko) (sang'a)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: ebur (la) n
• Latvian: ziloņkauls m
• Lithuanian: dramblio kaulo m
• Luxembourgish: Elfebeen n
• Macedonian: слонова коска f (slonova koska)
• Malay: gading (ms)
• Maltese: avorju
• Maori: rei
• Middle English: elpes bon, ivorie, yvory
• Mongolian: зааны яс (zaany jas)
• Norman: iviéthe m (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: elfenbein n, elfenben n

  Nynorsk: elfenbein n, filsbein n (rare)

• Old English: elpendbān n
• Old French: olifan m
• Ottoman Turkish: فیل دیشی (fil dişi)
• Persian: عاج (fa) ('âj), پیلسته (fa) (piloste)
• Plautdietsch: Aulfenbeen n
• 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)
• Samoan: nifo elefane
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: marfilu ?

• Sassarese: aboriu ?
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: сло̀новача f, бје̏локо̄ст f

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

• Slovak: slonovina f
• Slovene: slonovina (sl) f
• Somali: caag (so)
• Spanish: marfil (es) m
• Swahili: pembe za ndovu
• Swedish: elfenben (sv) n
• Tagalog: garing
• Tajik: устухони фил (ustuxoni fil)
• Thai: งาช้าง (ngaa cháang)
• Tibetan: བལ་སོ (bal so)
• Turkish: fildişi (tr)
• Ukrainian: слоно́ва кі́стка f (slonóva kístka)
• Urdu: ہاتھی دانت (hāthī dānt)
• Uzbek: fil suyagi
• Vietnamese: ngà voi (vi), ngà (vi)
• Volapük: vior (vo)
• Walloon: ivwere (wa) m
• Waray-Waray: gading
• Welsh: dant eliffant
• Yiddish: העלפֿאַנדביין ? (helfandbeyn)

colour

• Bulgarian: сло́нова кост f (slónova kost)
• Catalan: ivori (ca), vori (ca), marfil (ca) m
• Dutch: ivoorkleur (nl) f
• Estonian: elevandiluuvärv
• Finnish: norsunluunvalkoinen
• French: ivoire (fr) m
• Galician: marfil (gl) m
• German: Elfenbein (de) n, Elfenbeinfarbe f
• Hungarian: elefántcsontszín (hu)
• Ido: ivoreo, ivorkoloro
• Irish: dath an eabhair m
• Malay: gading (ms)
• Romanian: alb-ivoriu ?
• Russian: слоно́вая кость f (slonóvaja kostʹ), цвет слоно́вой ко́сти m (cvet slonóvoj kósti)
• Spanish: ebúrneo (es) ?
• Swedish: elfenbensfärg c, elfenbensvitt n
• Thai: สีงาช้าง

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

• Breton: ^{(please verify)} olifant (br) m, ^{(please verify)} ivor (br) m
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} gading (id)
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} ebore
• Latin: ^{(please verify)} ebur (la)

See also

• Galalith

Adjective

ivory (not comparable)

1. Made of ivory.
   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter X, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     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)
• Esperanto: ebura
• Finnish: norsunluinen (fi)
• German: elfenbeinern (de), Elfenbein-
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἐλεφάντινος (elephántinos)

• Ido: ivora (io), ivorala
• Irish: eabhair
• Italian: eburneo (it), avorio (it)
• Latin: eburneus (la)
• Malay: gading (ms)
• Old English: elpendbǣnen
• Ottoman Turkish: فیل دیشی (fil dişi)
• 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)
• Latin: eburneus (la)
• Malay: gading (ms)
• 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
• Volapük: ^{(please verify)} viorik

See also

• odontolite
• scrimshaw
• whalebone
• Appendix:Colors

Middle English

Noun

ivory

1. Alternative form of yvory