ivory

The word “ivory” means the hard, creamy-white material that forms the tusks of elephants and some other animals. In plain terms, the hard white tusk material from elephants (and similar animals), or the pale cream color named after it.

“Ivory” is pronounced YV-ree (/ˈaɪv(ə)ɹi/ in IPA).

Here is “ivory” used in a sentence: “The antique chess set was carved from ivory.”

Depending on how it is used, “ivory” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “ivory” comes from Latin. From Anglo-Norman "ivurie", from Latin "eboreus" ("of ivory"), tracing back to an ancient Egyptian word for elephant and ivory — a very long journey for one small word.

“Ivory” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Ivory” has 4 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the hard, creamy-white material that forms the tusks of elephants and some other animals.

Ivory is the hard, creamy-white material that specifically forms the tusks of elephants and some other animals, while bone comes from the skeletal structure of animals more broadly. Ivory has a distinct density and texture that has historically made it prized for carving, unlike ordinary bone.

Piano keys are informally called ivories because older pianos were traditionally topped with thin sheets of real ivory, the creamy-white material from elephant tusks. The nickname has stuck even though modern piano keys are typically made from plastic.

Yes, ivory also describes a pale, creamy-white color resembling the material itself. It's commonly used to describe paint, fabric, and other pale off-white shades.