olive

Etymology

From Middle English olyve, from Old French olive (“olive, olive tree”), from Latin olīva (“olive”), from Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía), from Proto-Indo-European *loiwom (compare Old Church Slavonic лои (loi, “tallow”), Old Armenian եւղ (ewł, “oil”)).^[1]

Pronunciation

• enPR: ŏl'ĭv, IPA^(key): /ˈɒlɪv/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• enPR: äl'ĭv, IPA^(key): /ˈɑlɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

olive (plural olives)

1. An evergreen tree, Olea europaea, cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
2. The small oval fruit of this tree, eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green).
3. The wood of the olive tree.
4. A dark yellowish-green color, that of an unripe olive.

   olive colour:  

5. (anatomy) An olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata.
6. A component of a plumbing compression joint; a ring which is placed between the nut and the pipe and compressed during fastening to provide a seal.
7. (cooking) A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked.

   a beef olive

   olives of veal

8. Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; so called from the shape.
9. (Britain, dialect) An oystercatcher, a shore bird.

Adjective

olive (comparative more olive, superlative most olive)

1. Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive.
   • 1907, Harold Edward Bindloss, chapter 22, in The Dust of Conflict‎:

     Appleby […] rose from his seat when Morales came in. He shook hands urbanely, unbuckled his sword, and laid his kepi on the table, and then sat down with an expression of concern in his olive face which Appleby fancied was assumed.

See also

• à la grecque
• Castile soap
• Gethsemane
• Wiktionary appendix of colours

References

Anagrams

• lovie, voile

Etymology

From Latin oliva.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.liv/

• Audio (FR)

  (file)

Noun

olive f (plural olives)

1. olive

Further reading

• “olive” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• viole, violé, voile, voilé

Noun

olive f

1. plural of oliva

Anagrams

• Elvio, ovile, viole, voile

Noun

olive

1. Alternative form of olyve

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin oliva.

Noun

olīve f

1. olive

Noun

olive m, f

1. olive tree

Noun

olive f (oblique plural olives, nominative singular olive, nominative plural olives)

1. olive

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɔlivɛ/

Noun

olive

1. dative singular of oliva
2. locative singular of oliva