Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various tropical American evergreen trees of the genus Swietenia, valued for their hard, reddish-brown wood.
- n. The wood of any of these trees, especially that of S. mahogani, used in making furniture.
- n. Any of several trees having wood resembling true mahogany.
- n. The wood of any of these trees.
- n. A moderate reddish brown.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A tree, Swietenia Mahagoni, of the natural order Meliaceœ. It is native in the West Indies, Central America, Mexico, and the Florida keys. Its importance lies in its timber.
- n. The wood of the above tree. It combines a rich reddish-brown color, beauty of grain, and susceptibility of polish with unusual soundness, uniformity, freedom from warping, durability, and largeness of dimensions. On account of its costliness, its use is restricted mainly to furniture-making, cabinet-work, etc., often in the form of a veneer. The quality of the timber varies with the conditions of its growth, exposed situations and solid ground yielding the finest. Mahogany with figured grain is especially prized, and is obtained largely, but not exclusively, from the San Domingo and Cuba wood, called
Spanish mahogany . The Honduras mahogany, or bay-wood, shipped from the Bay of Campeachy, is more open-grained and plain, and of larger dimensions, yielding logs sometimes 40 feet in length. The Mexican mahogany has the largest growth of all, is similar to the last-named, and supplements its diminishing supply. - n. A table, especially a dinner-table.
- n. A kind of drink. See the quotation.
- n. An old British collectors' name for a European and Asiatic noctuid moth, Amphipyra tetra.
Wiktionary
- n. countable Any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, having a valuable hard red-brown wood.
- n. uncountable The wood of these trees, mostly used to make furniture.
- n. A reddish-brown color, like that of mahogany wood
- adj. Made of mahogany.
- adj. Having the colour of mahogany; dark reddish-brown.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) A large tree of the genus Swietenia (Swietenia Mahogoni), found in tropical America.
- n. The wood of the Swietenia Mahogoni. It is of a reddish brown color, beautifully veined, very hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. It is used in the manufacture of furniture.
- n. colloq. A table made of mahogany wood.
WordNet 3.0
- n. wood of any of various mahogany trees; much used for cabinetwork and furniture
- n. any of various tropical timber trees of the family Meliaceae especially the genus Swietinia valued for their hard yellowish- to reddish-brown wood that is readily worked and takes a high polish
- n. a shade of brown with a tinge of red
Etymologies
- Origin uncertain. (Wiktionary)
- Obsolete Spanish mahogani, perhaps of Mayan origin. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“And consider a big tall bookshelf or wall unit in mahogany to go with that lovely door.”
“Because mahogany is so durable, used items are often in excellent shape, and offer an attractive alternative to buying new.”
“Of course, with the high quality and appeal, mahogany is an expensive choice.”
“The exterior is totally covered in mahogany with the interior also utilizing mahogany trim.”
“If you suspect your glorious liquid mahogany is burning, take it off the heat for a bit, but keep that wooden spoon moving.”
The Huffington Post: Stefan Beck: The Murders in the Roux Morgue: Fulci's The Beyond & Creole Gumbo
“There is a thick red stain, which for some mysterious reason is called mahogany, which is put on cheaper grades of furniture and finished with a high polish.”
“On the walls were some picture cards of actors; Napoleon and Madame Récamier in mahogany frames hung on either side of Jenny's old empire mirror above the antique chest of drawers.”
“* The word mahogany can be understood, in Danish, as having two meanings.”
“The objects - a glowing doughnut-shaped form in Japanese mahogany; an asymmetrical cone light in acrylic; a double-layered Corian bowl with an illuminated hole in the middle; an acrylic hanging light - were elegant but perplexing.”
“The so-called mahogany closet is in fact just a thin layer of mahogany veneer over industrial particleboard.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mahogany’.
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CULI - wine-tasting adjectives
In this area of expertise nouns are frequently used as adjectives (almond, bacon, cider, diesel, fennel, fresh-cut hay, wool) or new adjectives are formed (appley, berrylike, citrusy, full-bodied, ...
acetic, acidic, aged, angular, appley, astringent, attractive, austere, berrylike, big, bitter, brawny and 511 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11250 more...
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Uncommon Colours
azure, myrtle, periwinkle, viridian, jade, emerald, lime, chartreuse, asparagus, celadon, harlequin, olive and 147 more...
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Crayon Colors
This is a continuing list of Crayon Colors past and present. As I find new ones added to the "box", I will add them here as well!
black, blue, brown, apricot, bittersweet, blue green, blue violet, brick red, burnt sienna, carnation pink, cornflower, flesh and 134 more...
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Angola
Words pertaining to a country who's citizens have suffered grievously.
republica de angola, cabinda, river congo, planalto central, bie plateau, serra môco, zambezi, benguela, luanda, uige, malanje, huambo and 80 more...
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O.o
Things that give you a warm fuzzy sort of feeling.
crumpet, cream puff, bubbles, packed lunch, prezzies, stars, pillow, rain, old books, sheep, bikkie, lollipop and 41 more...
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Colors/Patterns/Prints/Textures
fritillary, chartreuse, tortoise-shell, brindle, burnt orange, cerulean, amaranth, sandy, amber, mold, fungus, kiwi and 65 more...
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Nouny
calumny, parsimony, gluttony, alimony, sanctimony, harmony, miscegeny, telephony, colony, antimony, larceny, mahogany and 26 more...
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Uncommon colors
Uncommon color names, mostly nouns.
burgundy, teal, aquamarine, dandelion, lavender, mahogany, mauve, chartreuse, turquoise, vermilion, aubergine
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Words from books I've read
These are some words I didn't know when I read and now I want to know!
Scribble, Newfangled, swift, swathe, budget, obstreperous, trickle, rank, covetous, scratch, hunch, dodge and 179 more...
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Color Words for Shoes
Vendors can get oddly creative.
amaranth, brindle, iguana, slate black, madder brown, bison, pinecone, seal brown, forest night, burnt orange, monument, beet red and 399 more...
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Colors
Words for colors, including things so associated with a color that they can be used in reference to a color.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, lavender, turquoise, chartreuse and 218 more...
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Twitter favorites
The new favourite words of people on Twitter.
A script searches Twitter for "X is my new favorite word" and adds it to this list.
See also:
unfathomably, glice, cuh, fab, ciggaty, doll, thuggin, oxymoronic, pineapple, succubutt, griming, cheeky and 2995 more... -
Chennessy's Words
philistine, messianic, dyad, cult, bourgeois, blot, ploy, polyglot, lingua franca, cumbersome, lumber, petit-bourgeois and 446 more...
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Words For Novel (Part 3)
fibers, gypsy, polymer, schism, syphilitic garden..., holocaust, scrutinant, contemplate, aftermath, consequence, deadlock, impasse and 168 more...
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color me mauve
color words
albescent, ecru, eggshell, mauve, taupe, ochre, ashen, goldenrod, gamboge, cream, saffron, mustard and 109 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for mahogany.

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