Where does “ivory” come from?
Ivory comes from Middle English ivorie, from Anglo-Norman ivurie, from Latin eboreus, derived from Latin ebur, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -e-.
ivory (English): The hard white form of dentin which forms the...
Definitions
- The hard white form of dentin which forms the...
Ancestry of “ivory”, step by step
ivory traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French ivoire
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | ivoire | ivory |
| 2 | Italian | avorio | ivory |
| 3 | Latin | eboreus | ivory |
| 4 | Latin | ebur | ivory; a thing made of ivory; an elephant |
| 5 | Demotic | yb | ivory, Elephantine |
| 6 | Egyptian | ꜣbw | cessation; elephant; elephant tusk |
| 7 | Egyptian | ꜣb | to stop, to take a break; to cease or stop; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Afroasiatic | *leb- | — |