In order to know the meaning of the term ebony, it is interesting, first of all, to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it is a word that derives from Latin, exactly from “ebenus”, which, in turn, emanates from the Greek “ébenos”.
Ebony is a tree that belongs to the family group of Ebenaceae .
Ebony, which has a wide crown, greenish flowers and yellow berries, is characterized by the quality and properties of its wood , the color of which is black in its central part. The ebony wood is also solid.
Other characteristics of ebony wood are that it is very resistant to all types of insects and fungi, that it is difficult to bend, that it is very dense and that can cause skin irritations in people.
An individual who specializes in working with ebony is called a cabinetmaker . His trade, meanwhile, is known as cabinetmaking . Cabinetmakers use this wood to create all kinds of furniture and even ornaments and artistic works.
It is possible to find chairs, desks, dressers and other pieces of furniture made with ebony. The restoration of these pieces of furniture, which are often very valuable, is considered an art in itself.
If it is in high demand it is because it can be used in very different ways. Thus, in addition to creating high-quality furniture, it can be used to shape musical instruments. Specifically, it is usually used to create what are the black keys of pianos and organs.
In the same way, it can be used to shape walking sticks, sculptures and even carvings of various kinds.
According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), in ancient times the notion of ebony was used to refer to black people in the context of the slave trade.
Currently, the expression “ebony goddess” is used to refer to a dark-skinned woman who stands out for her beauty. Josephine Baker , Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks are some of the figures who have been described as “ebony goddesses” . Dominican singer-songwriter Rafael Colón , on the other hand, was known as “La espiga de ébano” .
In the same way, we cannot ignore a famous literary work that responds to the title “Ébano”. It is written by the Polish author Ryszard Kapuscinski and was published in 1998. It has won various awards and has been translated into several languages.
It is made up of a total of 29 stories through which the aforementioned writer tells, in the first person, what are the adventures he lived during the time he worked as a journalist in Africa, specifically in the period between the end of the decade of the 50s and 1997.
Ébano , finally, is a Mexican municipality that is part of the state of San Luis Potosí . More than 40,000 people reside in its area of almost 700 square kilometers.