IVORY
What does "IVORY" mean?
The hard creamy-white substance making up the tusks of elephants and some other animals.
Meanings
- The dense white material of elephant or walrus tusks, prized for carving. The antique chess set was carved from a single piece of ivory.
- A creamy off-white colour. She chose ivory rather than bright white for the wedding dress.
- The keys of a piano, informally (often plural 'ivories'). He sat down and tickled the ivories until midnight. informal
Did you know?
- The global commercial ivory trade was effectively banned in 1990 under the CITES treaty, when African elephants were moved to its strictest protection list.
Word origin
From Old French 'ivurie', from Latin 'eboreus' ('of ivory'), from 'ebur' ('ivory') - a root traced back through Egyptian to a word for elephant.
Remember it
IVORY = I + VOR + Y; picture the 'V' as a tusk's curve, pale against the elephant's grey.
A little poem
A piano holds a forest in its grin-
each pale key once curved out of a giant's face,
now waiting, white and patient, to begin.
tercet
Wordplay
- The pianist refused to play anything but jazz. He only knew how to tickle the improvising ivories.
What it teaches
Beauty taken from the living is rarely worth its price; some white things are better left in the wild.
Quick facts
What does IVORY mean?
The hard creamy-white substance making up the tusks of elephants and some other animals.
Is IVORY a valid word?
Yes — IVORY is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is IVORY?
IVORY has 5 letters and 3 syllables.
Where does IVORY come from?
From Old French 'ivurie', from Latin 'eboreus' ('of ivory'), from 'ebur' ('ivory') - a root traced back through Egyptian to a word for elephant.
What can IVORY teach us?
Beauty taken from the living is rarely worth its price; some white things are better left in the wild.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.