olive.
A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
Meaning & usage
A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
The small oval fruit of this tree, eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green).
The wood of the olive tree.
A dark yellowish-green color, that of an unripe olive.
An olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata.
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.
A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked.
a beef olive
olives of veal
Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; so called from the shape.
An oystercatcher, a shore bird of genus Haematopus.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English olyve, from Old French olive (“olive, olive tree”), from Latin olīva (“olive”), itself from either Etruscan *𐌄𐌋𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌀 (*eleiva), Proto-Hellenic *elaíwā (compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀷 (e-ra-wa), Ancient Greek ἐλαίᾱ (elaíā)), or the same source as those two. In any case, ultimately from a Mediterranean Pre-Greek source, possibly Proto-Berber *wlw (“wild olive”). More questionably, maybe from Proto-Indo-European *loiwom (compare Old Church Slavonic лои (loi, “tallow”), Old Armenian եւղ (ewł, “oil”)). Doublet of oliva and oil. Displaced native Old English eleberġe, literally "oil berry."
Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English olyve, from Old French olive (“olive, olive tree”), from Latin olīva (“olive”), itself from either Etruscan *𐌄𐌋𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌀 (*eleiva), Proto-Hellenic *elaíwā (compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀷 (e-ra-wa), Ancient Greek ἐλαίᾱ (elaíā)), or the same source as those two. In any case, ultimately from a Mediterranean Pre-Greek source, possibly Proto-Berber *wlw (“wild olive”). More questionably, maybe from Proto-Indo-European *loiwom (compare Old Church Slavonic лои (loi, “tallow”), Old Armenian եւղ (ewł, “oil”)). Doublet of oliva and oil. Displaced native Old English eleberġe, literally "oil berry."
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.