Abstract

Tower of Ivory
van Doren, Carl | May 3, 1922 issue

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The author says that asked the first time, recently, what was the origin of the phrase "tower of ivory," he guessed that it must come from the French and pointed out that it was growing remarkably current. The phrase springs originally froth the Song of Songs and is there an epithet of the beloved. "Thy neck," says the lover, "is as a tower of ivory," meaning thereby, according to the writer Morris Jastrow, to praise its columnar whiteness. As words become more commonly used, they tend to carry With them a sense of selfish isolation. Just when the phrase crossed to England and the United States the author have not been able to make sure.

See Also:

TERMS & phrases; SUBLANGUAGE; PROVERBS; JARGON (Terminology); JASTROW, Morris; FRENCH; UNITED States
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