Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Ebony \Eb"on*y\, n.; pl. {Ebonies}. [F. ['e]b[`e]ne, L. ebenus,
   fr. Gr. ?; prob. of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. hobn[=i]m, pl.
   Cf. {Ebon}.]
   A hard, heavy, and durable wood, which admits of a fine
   polish or gloss. The usual color is black, but it also occurs
   red or green.

   Note: The finest black ebony is the heartwood of {Diospyros
         reticulata}, of the Mauritius. Other species of the
         same genus ({D. Ebenum}, {Melanoxylon}, etc.), furnish
         the ebony of the East Indies and Ceylon. The West
         Indian green ebony is from a leguminous tree ({Brya
         Ebenus}), and from the {Exc[ae]caria glandulosa}.