mahogany
Plural: mahoganies
Noun
- wood of any of various mahogany trees; much used for cabinetwork and furniture
- 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
- a shade of brown with a tinge of red
- The valuable wood of any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, mostly used to make furniture.
- Any of the trees from which such wood comes.
- (by extension) Any of various trees which resemble those of the genus Swietenia.
- A Cornish drink made from gin and treacle.
- A reddish-brown color, like that of mahogany wood.
- A table made from mahogany wood; a dining table.
Adj
- Made of mahogany.
- Having the colour of mahogany; dark reddish-brown.
Origin / Etymology
A word of unknown origin, concocted in either English or Middle Dutch from one or more exotic phytonyms and common European words.
Alternatively from Portuguese mogano, mógono, obsolete forms of mogno, itself of unknown origin (often suggested to be from the English word instead of the reverse), perhaps from an extinct indigenous language, such as a Mayan language originally spoken in Honduras or a South American language, but no known cognates survive. Another theory attempts to link Yoruba moganwo (“trees”, literally “tall ones”), but this has been criticized.
Synonyms
burnt sienna, mahogany tree, reddish brown, sepia, Venetian red
Scrabble Score: 17
mahogany is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordmahogany is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
mahogany is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary