ebony
/ˈɛb.ən.i/noun, adjective
ebony is spelled E-B-O-N-Y: 5 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Ebony, the name). As a noun, ebony means “A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ebony is ebonies.
How many letters and syllables are in ebony?
| Letters | 5: E-B-O-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ebony?
Ebony appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Ebony, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ebony?
- US /ˈɛb.ən.i/
Ebony has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-ebony.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ebony?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ebony (/ɛbəni/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: boney.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ebony
- ebonies plural
- more ebony comparative
- most ebony superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ebony mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A hard, dense, deep black wood from various subtropical and tropical trees, especially of the genus Diospyros.
- 2
A tree that yields such wood.
- 3
A deep, dark black colour.
Near-synonyms: onyx, raven
- 4
Dark skin colour.
- 5
A black key on a piano or other keyboard instrument (as opposed to ivory).
adjective
- 1
Made of ebony wood.
- 2
A deep, dark black colour.
Near-synonyms: onyx, raven
- 3
Dark-skinned; black; especially in reference to African-Americans.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ebony in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ébène, bois d'ébène , ébénier , d'ébène |
| German | Ebenholz , aus Ebenholz, Ebenholz- , ebenholzfarben |
| Portuguese | ébano , de ébano , ebâneo |
| Spanish | ébano, abenuz , de ébano/abenuz , de color ébano/abenuz, como de/el/del ébano/abenuz |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.