Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ebony” come from?

Ebony comes from Middle English ebenif, from Latin ebenius, from Latin hebenus, from Ancient Greek ἔβενος, ultimately from Egyptian hbnj.

ebony (English): A hard, dense, deep black wood from various...

Definitions

  1. A hard, dense, deep black wood from various...

Ancestry of “ebony”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishhebeny—
2Middle Englishebenif—
3Latinebeniusof ebony
4Latinhebenusebony
5Ancient Greekἔβενοςebony tree, wood
6Egyptianhbnjebony

Words derived from “ebony”

  • Ebony
  • ebonize
  • ebonist
  • ebonylike
Every word from Egyptian hbnj →