n. (pl. -ies) 1 a hard creamy-white substance composing the main part of the tusks of an elephant, hippopotamus, walrus, and narwhal. 2 the colour of this. 3 (usu. in pl.) a an article made of ivory. b sl. anything made of or resembling ivory, esp. a piano key or a tooth. fossil ivory ivory from the tusks of a mammoth. ivory black black pigment from calcined ivory or bone. ivory-nut the seed of a corozo palm, Phytelephas macrocarpa, used as a source of vegetable ivory for carving: also called corozo-nut. ivory tower a state of seclusion or separation from the ordinary world and the harsh realities of life. vegetable ivory a hard white material obtained from the endosperm of the ivory-nut. ivoried adj.
[ ME f. OF yvoire ult. f. L ebur eboris ]