olive
olive Lexical Profile
olive Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The small, oval, single-seeded drupe of the olive tree, green when unripe and bluish-black when ripe, cultivated for its edible flesh and pressed to extract oil.
"The harvest of the ripe olive begins in late autumn across the hillside orchards of Greece and Spain."
The cured or brined fruit of the olive tree, used in culinary preparation as a savory vegetable ingredient in salads, tapenades, pizzas, and Mediterranean dishes.
"She garnished the Greek salad with crumbled feta cheese, sliced cucumber, and a handful of Kalamata olives."
An evergreen tree (Olea europaea) in the family Oleaceae, native to the Mediterranean basin and having gnarled trunks, silvery-green oblong leaves, and small white flowers.
"Ancient olives with twisted trunks have grown in the rocky soil of the grove for hundreds of years."
A muted yellowish-green or grayish-green color resembling that of an unripe olive fruit.
"The interior designer paired warm terracotta tiles with walls painted in a soft olive."
• adjective
Having a muted yellowish-green or grayish-green color resembling that of an unripe olive.
"The park ranger wore a durable jacket in a dark olive shade that blended well with the forest canopy."
Having a warm, moderately tanned or yellowish-brown complexion, characteristic of many Mediterranean and Latin American populations.
"Her warm olive skin tanned easily during the summer months spent along the coast."
• Rhymes for olive
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French olive, from Latin oliva, which was borrowed from Ancient Greek elaia ('olive tree, olive fruit'), likely originating from a pre-Greek Mediterranean substrate language.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.