Where does “tickle the ivories” come from?
tickle the ivories (English) comes from English ivory, from French ivoire, from Italian avorio, from Latin eboreus, from Latin ebur, from Demotic yb, from Egyptian ꜣbw, from Egyptian ꜣb.
tickle the ivories (English): To play a piano or other keyboard instrument
Definitions
- To play a piano or other keyboard instrument
Ancestry of “tickle the ivories”, step by step
tickle the ivories traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English ivory
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ivory | The hard white form of dentin which forms the... |
| 2 | French | ivoire | ivory |
| 3 | Italian | avorio | ivory |
| 4 | Latin | eboreus | ivory |
| 5 | Latin | ebur | ivory; a thing made of ivory; an elephant |
| 6 | Demotic | yb | ivory, Elephantine |
| 7 | Egyptian | ꜣbw | cessation; elephant; elephant tusk |
| 8 | Egyptian | ꜣb | to stop, to take a break; to cease or stop; to... |
| 9 | Proto-Afroasiatic | *leb- | — |