eb|on|y

eb|on|y «EHB uh nee», noun, plural -on|ies, adjective.

–n.

1. a hard, black wood, used especially for the black keys of a piano, for the backs and handles of brushes, and for ornamental woodwork.

2. a tropical tree that yields this wood.

3. any one of several similar woods or trees.

–adj.

1. made of ebony: »

an ebony cane.

2. like ebony; black; dark.

╂[< Late Latin hebeninus < Greek ebéninos of ebony < ébenos ebony < Egyptian h-b-ny]