English Explanatory Dictionary

ivory tower

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A sheltered, overly-academic existence or perspective, implying a disconnection or lack of awareness of reality or practical considerations.
adj
  1. Separated from reality and practical matters; overly academic.

Pronunciation

/ˈaɪvəɹi ˈtaʊə/ /ˈaɪvəɹi ˈtaʊɚ/ en-us-ivory tower.ogg en-au-ivory tower.ogg

Word forms

ivory tower ivory towers more ivory tower most ivory tower

Etymology

Calque of French tour d'ivoire, based on a biblical phrase, coined by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve to compare the poet Alfred de Vigny (more isolated) with Victor Hugo (more socially engaged). First attested in English in a translation of Laughter by French philosopher Henri Bergson (1911). The term was popularized in The Ivory Tower (1917) by Henry James, though used in different sense (millionaires, not professors).

Related words

armchair cloisterism

Derived words

ivory-towered ivory-towerism ivory-towerist
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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