Olive

• POS: Adjective, Noun
• HYPHEN: Ol=ive

CIDE DICTIONARY

Olive, n. [F., fr. L. oliva, akin to Gr. . See Oil.].

•  A tree (Olea Europæa) with small oblong or elliptical leaves, axillary clusters of flowers, and oval, one-seeded drupes. The tree has been cultivated for its fruit for thousands of years, and its branches are the emblems of peace. The wood is yellowish brown and beautifully variegated.  [1913 Webster]
•  Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; -- so called from the form. See Oliva.  [1913 Webster]
•  The color of the olive, a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green.  [1913 Webster]
•  An olivary body. See under Olivary.  [1913 Webster]
•  A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked; as, olives of beef or veal.  [1913 Webster]

  " Olive is sometimes used adjectively and in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, olive brown, olive green, olive-colored, olive-skinned, olive crown, olive garden, olive tree, olive yard, etc."  [1913 Webster]

Bohemian olive (Bot.), a species of Elæagnus (Elæagnus angustifolia), the flowers of which are sometimes used in Southern Europe as a remedy for fevers. -- Olive branch. (a) A branch of the olive tree, considered an emblem of peace. (b) (Fig.): A child. -- to hold out an olive branch, to offer to make peace (with a rival or enemy). -- Olive brown, brown with a tinge of green. -- Olive green, a dark brownish green, like the color of the olive. -- Olive oil, an oil expressed from the ripe fruit of the olive, and much used as a salad oil, also in medicine and the arts. -- Olive ore (Min.), olivenite. -- Wild olive (Bot.), a name given to the oleaster or wild stock of the olive; also variously to several trees more or less resembling the olive.

Olive, a. 

 Approaching the color of the olive; of a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Olive, n. & adj.
--n.
1 (in full olive tree) any evergreen tree of the genus Olea, having dark-green lance-shaped leathery leaves with silvery undersides, esp. O. europaea of the Mediterranean, and O. africana native to S. Africa.
2 the small oval fruit of this, having a hard stone and bitter flesh, green when unripe and bluish-black when ripe.
3 (in full olive-green) the greyish-green colour of an unripe olive.
4 the wood of the olive tree.
5 Anat. each of a pair of olive-shaped swellings in the medulla oblongata.
6 a any olive-shaped gastropod of the genus Oliva. b the shell of this.
7 a slice of beef or veal made into a roll with stuffing inside and stewed.
--adj.
1 coloured like an unripe olive.
2 (of the complexion) yellowish-brown, sallow.

Idiom

olive branch
1 the branch of an olive tree as a symbol of peace.
2 a gesture of reconciliation or friendship. olive crown a garland of olive leaves as a sign of victory. olive drab the dull olive colour of US army uniforms. olive oil an oil extracted from olives used esp. in cookery.

Etymology

ME f. OF f. L oliva f. Gk elaia f. elaion oil

THESAURUS

Olive

aestival, beryl-green, berylline, blue-green, bluish-green, chartreuse, chloranemic, chlorine, chlorotic, citrine, citrinous, emerald, foliaged, glaucescent, glaucous, glaucous-green, grassy, green, green as grass, green-blue, greenish, greenish-blue, greenish-yellow, greensick, holly, ivy, ivy-green, leafy, leaved, olivaceous, olive-green, porraceous, smaragdine, springlike, summerlike, summery, verdant, verdurous, vernal, vernant, vert, virescent, yellowish-green

ROGET THESAURUS

Olive

Greenness

N greenness, green, blue and yellow, vert, emerald, verd antique, verdigris, malachite, beryl, aquamarine, absinthe, cr=eme de menthe, terre verte, verditer, verdine, copperas, greenness, verdure, viridity, viridescence, verditure, glaucoma, rokunaisho, green, verdant, glaucous, olive, olive green, green as grass, verdurous, emerald green, pea green, grass green, apple green, sea green, olive green, bottle green, coke bottle green, greenish, virent, virescent, green (learner), new, inexperienced, novice, (unskillful), green (ill, sick), green with envy, the green grass of Ireland, the wearing of the green.