Etymologically
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greasy

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 13:33. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɡɹiː.si/, /ˈɡɹiː.zi/[1]
  • US: /ˈɡɹi.si/, /ˈɡɹi.zi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English grease + -y.[2][3][4] Grease is from Anglo-Norman grece, Old French gresse, from Vulgar Latin *crassia (“melted animal fat”), from Latin crassus (“thick, solid, fat”), which is of unknown origin.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Smeared or soiled with grease: 1514 according to Merriam-Webster,[5] and about 1518 in the OED, in Cocke Lorelles Bote.[3] Etymonline dates it to the 1510s.[2]

Semantic evolution

Already before 1529, in Skelton, greasy was a term of contempt or abuse,[3] and between 1542 and 1583 Protestant writers used it of Roman Catholic priests, in mockery of their anointing.[3] From 1592 it meant made of or full of grease, especially of fatty food,[3] and since 1598 filthy or obscene, especially of language.[3] Shakespeare used it of wool still containing its natural grease, a sense that later gave the noun greasy for such wool (1883).[3] Johnson (1755) gave "oily; fat; unctuous" and "smeared with grease".[6] From 1801 the word described roads slippery with mud or moisture,[3] a sense the English Dialect Dictionary recorded across northern and midland England,[7] and since 1848, in Thackeray, a disagreeably oily or ingratiating manner.[3] The greasy spoon, a small cheap restaurant, is recorded from 1906.[2] In Australian slang a greasy is a sheep shearer (from 1939) or an outback cook.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1514 – smeared or soiled with grease.[5]
  • before 1529 – as a term of contempt.[3]
  • 1592 – made of or full of grease; of food, fatty.[3]
  • 1598 – filthy, obscene.[3]
  • 1700 – looking or feeling as if covered with grease.[3]
  • 1801 – of a road, slippery with mud or moisture.[3]
  • 1848 – of manner or voice, unpleasantly oily.[3]
  • 1906 – greasy spoon.[2]
  • 1939 – Australian slang, a shearer.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Covered or soiled with grease or oil: greasy overalls.[9][5][3]
  2. Containing a lot of grease or fat: a plate of greasy sausages.[9][3]
  3. Like grease in look or feel; slippery: The cobbles were greasy after the rain.[9][3]
  4. Unpleasantly smooth and ingratiating in manner; unctuous.[9][5][3]
  5. Of wool: not yet cleaned of its natural grease.[3][8]

Noun

  1. (Australia, slang) A sheep shearer.[9][8]
  2. (Australia, slang) A cook in the outback, especially one cooking for a group of workers.[9]

Word family

  • greasily
  • greasiness
  • nongreasy
  • overgreasy
  • ungreasy

Usage notes

In the United States the word is said with /s/ in the North and West and with /z/ in the South and South Midland.[5][10] British speakers mostly use /z/.[5] Merriam-Webster notes that some speakers use /s/ for the literal sense and /z/ to suggest something unpleasant.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  8. ^ a b c d Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House