mahogany

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mahogany^¹

/məˈhɒɡəni/ UK
/məˈhɑɡəni/ US

Rhymes with -ɒɡəni

Where it comes from

A word of unknown origin, concocted in either English or Middle Dutch from one or more exotic phytonyms and common European words.

alternative etymologies

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.

noun mahoganies · mahoganey · mahoganee · mahogeney · mahogeny · mohogeny

error lua exec, uncountable The valuable wood of any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, mostly used to make furniture. A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away[…].
countable, error lua exec Any of the trees from which such wood comes.
countable, error lua exec (by extension) Any of various kinds of trees, the timber of which resembles that of trees the genus Swietenia.
countable, error lua exec, regional, uncountable A Cornish drink made from gin and treacle. William Murdoch […] produced a bottle of port; but I chose mahogany (two parts gin and one part treacle, which Lord Eliot made us at Sir Joshua Reynolds's as a Cornish liquor, but it seems they make it also with brandy, and often add porter to it).
countable, error lua exec, uncountable A reddish-brown color, like that of mahogany wood. Better she, my dear, than a black Mrs. Sedley, and a dozen of mahogany grandchildren.
colloquial, countable, error lua exec, obsolete, uncountable A table made from mahogany wood; a dining table. Poets eat and drink without stint — and seldom at their own cost — for what man of mark or likelihood in the moneyed world is there, who is not eager to get their legs under his mahogany?

adjective more mahogany · most mahogany · mahoganey · mahoganee · mahogeney · mahogeny

error lua exec Made of mahogany.
error lua exec Having the colour of mahogany; dark reddish-brown.

Mahogany^²

proper noun

A barangay of Butuan, Agusan del Norte, Philippines.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: mahogany tree, wood, wooden, boner, gaul, muk, walnut, teak, cedar, oak, rosewood, cherrywood, okoume, acajou, maroon, auburn

Translations

Every language

noun tree

Español	caoba
日本語	マホガニー mahoganī
中文	桃花心木 táohuāxīnmù
हिन्दी	महोगनी mahognī
Português	mogno
Français	acajou, mahagoni
Deutsch	Mahagonibaum
Italiano	mogano
Ελληνικά	μαόνι maóni
Română	mahon, acaju
Русский	кра́сное де́рево krásnoje dérevo, махаго́ниевое де́рево maxagónijevoje dérevo, акажу́ akažú
Tiếng Việt	dái ngựa
العربية	مَاهُوجَنِي māhūganī

noun reddish-brown color

Português	acaju
Français	acajou

noun wood

Español	caoba
日本語	マホガニー mahoganī
中文	桃花心木 táohuāxīnmù
हिन्दी	महोगनी mahognī
Português	mogno, acaju
Français	acajou
Deutsch	Mahagoni
Italiano	mogano
Ελληνικά	μαόνι maóni, ερυθρόξυλο erythróxylo
Română	mahon, acaju
Русский	кра́сное де́рево krásnoje dérevo, махаго́ни maxagóni

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MLA

"mahogany." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mahogany. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mahogany. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mahogany

Chicago

"mahogany." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mahogany.

BibTeX

@misc{mahogany_2026,
  title = {mahogany},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mahogany},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}