Etymologically
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eburnus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 19:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛˈbʊr.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eˈbur.nus][1]

Forms

eburnus (feminine eburna, neuter eburnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ebur (“ivory”) + -nus.[2][1] For ebur the OLD compares Egyptian ꜣbw (“elephant, ivory”), and Wiktionary takes it as a loanword, probably through Demotic, from that Egyptian word, perhaps related to the second half of Ancient Greek ἐλέφας (eléphas, “elephant, ivory”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus.[3] Lucilius has an ivory mirror.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means made of ivory, or decorated with it: Lucretius has India walled with ivory, that is, with elephants.[2] Porta eburna is the ivory gate of the underworld through which false dreams come.[2] Ovid calls Pelops ivory for his ivory shoulder, and Propertius praises ivory-white fingers.[2] Wiktionary treats it as a form of eburneus.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of an ivory mirror.[2][3]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of an ivory rampart.[2][3]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius of white fingers.[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Made of ivory; decorated with ivory;[2][1] porta eburna, the ivory gate of false dreams.[2][1]
  2. White as ivory.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de