/eb"euh nee/ , n. , pl. ebonies , adj.
n.
1. a hard, heavy, durable wood, most highly prized when black, from various tropical trees of the genus Diospyros, as D. ebenum of southern India and Sri Lanka, used for cabinetwork, ornamental objects, etc.
2. any tree yielding such wood.
3. any of various similar woods or trees.
4. a deep, lustrous black.
adj.
5. Also, ebon . made of ebony.
6. of a deep, lustrous black.
[ 1590-1600; earlier hebeny; see EBON; -y perh. after IVORY ]