what is the meaning of ebony?

Answer 1

Dictionary
eb·on·y (ĕb'ə-nē)
n., pl. -ies.
Any of various tropical Asian or African trees of the genus Diospyros.
The wood of such a tree, especially the hard black heartwood of D. ebenum or certain other species, used in cabinetwork and inlaying and for piano keys.
The hard dark wood of various other trees.
The color black; ebon.
adj.
Made of or suggesting ebony.
Black in color.


Thesaurus
ebony

adjective

Of the darkest achromatic visual value: black, ebon, inky, jet1, jetty, onyx, pitch-black, pitchy, sable, sooty. See colors/colorless.

Britannica
Britannica
ebony
Wood of several species of trees of the genus Diospyros (family Ebenaceae), found widely in the tropics. The best is very heavy, almost black, and from heartwood only. Because of its colour, durability, hardness, and ability to take a high polish, ebony is used for cabinetwork and inlaying, piano keys, knife handles, and turned articles. The best Indian and Ceylon ebony is produced by D. ebenum, which grows in abundance west of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. Jamaica, American, or green ebony comes from Brya ebenus, a leguminous tree or shrub.


Encyclopedia
ebony, common name for members of the Ebenaceae, a family of trees and shrubs widely distributed in warmer climates and in the tropics. The principal genus, Diospyros, includes both ebony and persimmon trees. Ebony wood, valued from ancient times, is hard and dark; it is extensively used for piano keys and in cabinetmaking, especially the black Macassar ebony of India and the East Indies. Several species (notably D. hirsuta) that have wood striped with black or with shades of brown are called calamander wood or variegated ebony. Several other unrelated hardwoods are commonly called ebony. Of the many species in the family bearing edible fruit, the best known are the persimmons. D. virginiana is native in the United States E of the Mississippi. The Japanese persimmon (D. kaki) is cultivated in Japan and China, in the Mediterranean area, and in the warmer regions of the United States. The unripe fruit contains tannic acid, a powerful astringent. Soft and pulpy when ripe, persimmons are difficult to market. Large quantities are eaten on the tree by opossums, whence the name possumwood for the tree. Persimmon wood has a limited use in the manufacture of objects (e.g., golf club heads) requiring hard wood. The ebony family is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, order Ebenales, class Magnoliopsida.


WordNet
The noun ebony has 3 meanings:

Meaning #1: a very dark black
Synonyms: coal black, jet black, pitch black, sable, soot black


Meaning #2: hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keys


Meaning #3: tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork
Synonym: Diospyros ebenum



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The adjective ebony has one meaning:

Meaning #1: very dark black
Synonym: ebon


WIKIPEDIA :-
ebony




A sculpture in ebony (African art).Ebony (Diospyros ebenum), also known as Indian Ebony or Ceylon Ebony, is a tree in the genus Diospyros, native to southern India and Sri Lanka. It is noted for its heavy, black, fine-grained heartwood. It is a medium-sized evergreen tree, reaching 20–25 m tall. The leaves are entire, about 6–15 cm long and 3–5 cm broad. The fruit is a small berry 2 cm diameter, similar to a small persimmon.

Uses
Ebony heartwood is one of the most intensely black woods known, which, combined with its very high density, fine texture, and ability to polish very smoothly, has made it very valuable as an ornamental wood. It has a long history of use, with carved pieces having been found in Ancient Egyptian tombs. The word "ebony" actually derives from the Ancient Egyptian word hbny.

By the end of the 16th century, fine cabinets for the luxury trade were made of ebony in Antwerp. The dense hardness lent itself to refined moldings framing finely detailed pictorial panels with carving in very low relief (bas-relief), usually of allegorical subjects, or taken from classical or Christian history. Within a short time, such cabinets were also being made at Paris, where their makers became known as ébénistes, which remains the French term for a cabinetmaker.

Modern uses are largely restricted to small sizes, particularly in musical instrument making, including piano keys, and violin and guitar finger boards, pegs and chinrests. Traditionally, black piano keys were ebony, and the black pieces in chess were made from ebony, with holly wood (of similar texture, but white) being used for the white pieces.

Translations :-
Translations for: Ebony
Dansk (Danish)
n. - ibenholt
adj. - sort, ibenholt-

Nederlands (Dutch)
ebbenhout, donker

Français (French)
n. - ébène
adj. - noir d'ébène, d'ébène, en ébène

Deutsch (German)
n. - Ebenholz
adj. - schwarz, Ebenholz-

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έβενος, (ως επίθ.) εβένινος, κατάμαυρος

Italiano (Italian)
ebano

Português (Portuguese)
n. - ébano (m) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
эбонит, черное дерево

Español (Spanish)
n. - ébano
adj. - ébano

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - ebenholts


中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
黑檀, 乌木, 乌木制的, 黑檀的

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 黑檀, 烏木
adj. - 烏木製的, 黑檀的

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 흑단
adj. - 흑단으로 만든, 새까만

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 黒檀, 黒檀色
adj. - 黒檀製の, 黒檀のような

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) خشب الأبنوس, أو شجره‏

עברית (Hebrew)‬
n. - ‮עץ שחור קשה המשמש לייצור רהיטים, הובנה, שחור‬
adj. - ‮עץ שחור קשה המשמש לייצור רהיטים, הובנה, שחור‬

Answer 2

Ebony is a very dark wood, and is the word is often used to describe dark, black things.

Piano keyboards used to be made from Ebony and Ivory--
Ebony, black wooden keys, Ivory, white keys made from the Ivory of Elephant tusks.

Answer 3

It means black. It comes from an African tree called ebony. The wood is very hard and black and carves beautifully.

Answer 4

Mistermajik is, of course, right!

These are pictures of things made of ebony ... it's easy to see why 'almost black' things are described as 'ebony'!
http://www.canequest.com/imgs/cane21.jpg
http://www.thewoodbox.com/data/wood/ebony-info.htm
http://www.natashascafe.com/html/ebony.html

Answer 5

It means black. Funny enough there was an African American girl who went to my school. Her name was Ebony Smith. "Black Smith," if you translate. Haha. True story.

Answer 6

black...