ebony

\ˈɛb.ə.ni\

/\ˈɛb.ə.ni\/ noun

The verdict

“ebony” is an uncommon French word, ranked #62,236 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#62,236
frequency rank, French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Ébène.

Key facts for ebony
PropertyValue
Headwordebony
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ˈɛb.ə.ni\
Letters5
Frequency rank#62,236
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “ebony” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). ebony lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for ebony is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ˈɛb.ə.ni\. Corpus data places it at rank #62,236 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Ébène.".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for ebony, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is ebony, spelled E-B-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Ébène.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ebony"?
"ebony" is spelled E-B-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is \ˈɛb.ə.ni\.
What does "ebony" mean?
As a noun, "ebony" means: Ébène.
How do you pronounce "ebony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ebony" is \ˈɛb.ə.ni\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "ebony" come from?
"ebony" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “ebony”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is E-B-O-N-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ˈɛb.ə.ni\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list