[ma.hog.a.ny] n, pl -nies [origin unknown] (ca. 1660) 1: the wood of any of various chiefly tropical trees (family Meliaceae, the mahogany family): a (1): the durable yellowish brown to reddish brown usu. moderately hard and heavy wood of a West Indian tree (Swietenia mahagoni) that is widely used for cabinetwork and fine finish work (2): a wood similar to mahogany from a congeneric tree (esp. S. macrophylla) b (1): the rather hard heavy usu. odorless wood of any of several African trees (genus Khaya) (2): the rather lightweight cedar-scented wood of any of several African trees (genus Entandrophragma) that varies in color from pinkish to deep reddish brown
2: any of various woods resembling or substituted for mahogany obtained from trees of the mahogany family
3: a tree that yields mahogany
4: a moderate reddish brown