ivory tower

Meaning

Noun

A sheltered, overly-academic existence or perspective, implying a disconnection or lack of awareness of reality or practical considerations.

Adj

Separated from reality and practical matters; overly academic.

Translations

Elfenbeinturm

tour d’ivoire

torre de marfim

torre de marfil

torre d’avorio

tour d'ivoire

torre d'avorio

ivoren toren

torre d’ivori

torre de vori

tour

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈaɪvəɹi ˈtaʊə/

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).