oil

Pronunciation: /ɔɪl/

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water
  2. noun oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist
  3. noun a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons

Etymology

From Middle English oyle, oile (“olive oil”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman olie, from Latin oleum (“oil, olive oil”), from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”), from ἐλαία (elaía, “olive”). Compare Proto-Slavic *lojь. More at olive. Doublet of oleum. Supplanted Middle English ele (“oil”), from Old English ele (“oil”), also from Latin.

In classic literature

Semantic network

Broader (hypernyms)
lipid
Narrower (hyponyms)
tung oil, mustard oil, hydnocarpus oil, grease, mineral oil, calamus oil

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