hard dark-colored heartwood of the ebony tree; used in cabinetwork and for piano keys
<noun.plant>
tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork
<noun.plant> [ adj ]
of a very dark black
<adj.all>
Ebony \Eb"on*y\, n.; pl. {Ebonies}. [F. ['e]b[`e]ne, L. ebenus, fr. Gr. ?; prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. hobn[=i]m, pl. Cf. {Ebon}.] A hard, heavy, and durable wood, which admits of a fine polish or gloss. The usual color is black, but it also occurs red or green.
Note: The finest black ebony is the heartwood of {Diospyros reticulata}, of the Mauritius. Other species of the same genus ({D. Ebenum}, {Melanoxylon}, etc.), furnish the ebony of the East Indies and Ceylon. The West Indian green ebony is from a leguminous tree ({Brya Ebenus}), and from the {Exc[ae]caria glandulosa}.
Ebony \Eb"on*y\, a. Made of ebony, or resembling ebony; black; as, an ebony countenance.
This ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling. --Poe.