Etymology, Origin And Meaning Of Phrase Ivory Tower By Etymonline

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Origin and history of ivory tower

ivory tower(n.)

symbol of artistic or intellectual aloofness, by 1889, from French tour d'ivoire, used in 1837 by critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804-1869) with reference to the poet Alfred de Vigny (1797-1863), whom he accused of excessive aloofness.

Et Vigny, plus secret, comme en sa tour d'ivoire, avant midi rentrait. [Sainte-Beuve, "Pensées d'Août, à M. Villemain," 1837]

Used earlier as a type of a wonder or a symbol of "the ideal." The literal image is perhaps from Song of Solomon [vii:4]:

Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus. [KJV]

also from 1889

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steepleMiddle English stēpel "tall structure, high tower," from Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower,"...From late 12c. especially "lofty tower or bell-tower on a church."...belfryc. 1400, "wooden siege tower on wheels" (late 13c. in Anglo-Latin with a sense "bell tower"), from Old North French berfroi..."movable siege tower" (Modern French beffroi), from Middle High German bercfrit "protecting shelter," from Proto-Germanic...It came to be used for bell towers (mid-15c.), which at first often were detached from church buildings (as the "Leaning Tower...scrimshaw"shell or piece of ivory fancifully carved," a sailor's word, by 1864 in that spelling, also scrimshon, etc., "A nautical...diptych1620s, "hinged, two-leaved tablet of wood, ivory, etc., with waxed inner surfaces, used by the Greeks and Romans for writing...dungeonc. 1300, "great tower of a castle," from Old French donjon "great tower of a castle" (12c.), from Gallo-Roman *dominionem...pylonMeaning "tower for guiding aviators" (1909) led to that of "steel tower for high-tension wires" (1923)....chopstickalso chop-stick, "small stick of wood or ivory used in pairs in eating in China, Korea, Japan," 1690s, sailors' partial translation...tourc. 1300, "a turn, a shift on duty," from Old French tor, tourn, tourn "a turn, trick, round, circuit, circumference," from torner, tourner "to turn" (see turn (v.)). Sense of "a continued ramble or excursion" is from 1640s. Tour de France as a bicycle race is recorded in English plus1570s, the oral rendering of the arithmetical sign +, also "more by a certain amount" (correlative to minus), from Latin plus "more, in greater number, more often" (comparative of multus "much"), altered (by influence of minus) from *pleos, from PIE root *pele- (1) "to fill" (see

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‘cite’Page URL:https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20towerCopyHTML Link:<a href="https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20tower">Etymology of ivory tower by etymonline</a>CopyAPA Style:Harper, D. (n.d.). Etymology of ivory tower. Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved February 11, 2026, from https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20towerCopyChicago Style:Harper Douglas, "Etymology of ivory tower," Online Etymology Dictionary, accessed February 11, 2026, https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20tower.CopyMLA Style:Harper, Douglas. "Etymology of ivory tower." Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20tower. Accessed 11 February, 2026.CopyIEEE Style:D. Harper. "Etymology of ivory tower." Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/word/ivory%20tower (accessed February 11, 2026).CopyRemove AdsAdvertisement

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TrendingDictionary entries near ivory tower

• -ium
• Ivan
• -ive
• ivied
• ivory
• ivory tower
• ivy
• ixnay
• izard
• -ization
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