Definition of Olive

1. Noun. Small ovoid fruit of the European olive tree; important food and source of oil.

Terms within: Olive Oil
Group relationships: European Olive Tree, Olea Europaea
Generic synonyms: Fruit

2. Adjective. Of a yellow-green color similar to that of an unripe olive.
Similar to: Chromatic

3. Noun. Evergreen tree cultivated in the Mediterranean region since antiquity and now elsewhere; has edible shiny black fruits.
Exact synonyms: European Olive Tree, Olea Europaea
Group relationships: Genus Olea, Olea
Generic synonyms: Olive Tree

4. Noun. Hard yellow often variegated wood of an olive tree; used in cabinetwork.
Substance meronyms: Olive Tree
Generic synonyms: Wood

5. Noun. One-seeded fruit of the European olive tree usually pickled and used as a relish.
Generic synonyms: Relish, Drupe, Stone Fruit
Specialized synonyms: Black Olive, Ripe Olive, Green Olive
Group relationships: European Olive Tree, Olea Europaea

6. Noun. A yellow-green color of low brightness and saturation.

Definition of Olive

1. n. 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.

2. a. Approaching the color of the olive; of a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green.

Definition of Olive

1. Proper noun. (English female given name). ¹

2. Noun. An evergreen tree, ''Olea europaea'', cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it. ¹

3. Noun. The small oval fruit of this tree, eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green). ¹

4. Noun. The wood of the olive tree. ¹

5. Noun. A grayish green color, that of an unripe olive. ¹

6. Noun. (anatomy) An olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata. ¹

7. Noun. 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. ¹

8. Adjective. Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Olive

1. the small oval fruit of a Mediterranean tree [n -S]

Medical Definition of Olive

1. 1. A tree (Olea Europaea) 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. The fruit of the olive. It has been much improved by cultivation, and is used for making pickles. Olive oil is pressed from its flesh. 2. Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; so called from the form. See Oliva. The oyster catcher. 3. The colour of the olive, a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green. One of the tertiary colours, composed of violet and green mixed in equal strength and proportion. 4. An olivary body. See Olivary. 5. A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked; as, olives of beef or veal. Olive is sometimes used adjectively and in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, olive brown, olive green, olive-coloured, olive-skinned, olive crown, olive garden, olive tree, olive yard, etc. Bohemian olive, a name given to the oleaster or wild stock of the olive; also variously to several trees more or less resembling the olive. Origin: F, fr. L. Oliva, akin to Gr. See Oil. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Olive

olisboses
olitiau
olitories
olitory
oliva
oliva inferior
oliva superior
olivaceous
olivaceous-umber
olivanic
olivanic acid
olivary
olivary body
olivary eminence
olivaster
olive (current term)
olive-backed oriole
olive-brown
olive-drab
olive-drab uniform
olive-like
olive-tipped catheter
olive-tree agaric
olive branch
olive branches
olive brown
olive drab
olive family
olive green
olive grove

Literary usage of Olive

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Biennial Report by California Dept. of Agriculture, California State Commission of Horticulture (1892)
"ADULTERANTS IN olive OIL. The question of adulterants used in adulterating ... Merchants and others were found to adulterate olive oil with foreign agents, ..."

2. Sunset by Southern Pacific Company, Southern Pacific Company. Passenger Dept (1914)
"Here Mr. Alexander, a Hawaiian sugar-planter, purchased about 1800 acres of land and planted 120 acres in olives. The olive grove slowly developed but a ..."

3. Journal of the American Chemical Society by American Chemical Society (1903)
"Gerard* reported in 1892 that he had obtained phytosterol from olive oil and had identified it by the melting-point. Bomer* declared in 1898 that from two ..."

4. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and (1911)
"The unripe fruit of the olive is largely used in modern as in ancient times ... In England the olive is not hardy, though in the southern counties it will ..."

5. The Auk: Quarterly Journal of Ornithology by American Ornithologists' Union, Nuttall Ornithological Club (1895)
"I secured it, and to my delight, held in my hand the first male olive Warbler I ... I next saw the olive Warbler on June io, on the summit of the Chiricahua ..."

6. The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers Down to ...by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, Ernest Cushing Richardson, Allan Menzies, Bernhard Pick by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, Arthur Cleveland Coxe, Ernest Cushing Richardson, Allan Menzies, Bernhard Pick (1885)
"But thou, being a wild olive-tree," he says, " hast been grafted into the good olive-tree, and been made a partaker of the fatness of the olive-tree. ..."

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