Etymologically
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oily

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is formed from English oil + -y.[2][3][4][5] Etymonline finds it in the late 14th century as oilei.[3] The OED notes that the Scots forms were probably at first oil used before a noun, later taken by speakers as containing the suffix.[2] Oil itself is from Anglo-Norman olie and oile, from Latin oleum (“oil, olive oil”), from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or like oil, consisting of oil: about 1475, in a copy of surgical treatises composed in 1392.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century,[3] Merriam-Webster to the 14th century,[4] and the Shorter Oxford to the early 16th.[5]

Semantic evolution

From the literal sense of resembling or consisting of oil, the word was used from 1547 of things containing oil or smeared with it, greasy.[2] Johnson (1755) gave both, quoting Shakespeare's "oily rascal" from Henry IV for "fat; greasy".[6] The figurative sense of speech or manners that are too smooth, flattering or obsequious, like the older unctuous, is recorded from 1598.[2][3][5] Since 1886 oilies have been oilskin garments.[2] In Norfolk an oily frock was an oilskin coat, and in the West Riding of Yorkshire oily-coil was coal tar.[7] An American ranching term of the 1950s used oily for mean-spirited or tough.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1475 – of or like oil, consisting of oil.[2] Etymonline dates the word to the late 14th century.[3]
  • 1547 – containing oil, smeared with oil; greasy.[2]
  • 1598 – figurative, smooth and flattering in speech or manner; unctuous.[2][3]
  • 1886 – noun, an oilskin garment, chiefly in the plural.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of, like or consisting of oil; containing oil: an oily fish.[4][9][2]
  2. Covered or soaked with oil; greasy: a pile of oily rags in the garage.[4][9][2]
  3. Of skin or hair, producing much natural oil.[4]
  4. Too smooth or flattering in speech or manner; unctuous, obsequious.[4][9][2][5]

Noun

  1. An oilskin garment, usually in the plural.[2][5]

Word family

  • oilily
  • oiliness
  • nonoily
  • unoily

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
  9. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins