olio

Forms

olio m (plural oli)^[1] An older and regional form is oglio, and the old form Old Italian oleo is also recorded.^[2][3][1][4] The plural is oli, less often olii.^[1][5][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin ŏleum (“olive oil”), which Latin took from Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”).^[6][7][8][1] Nocentini traces the Latin word through *oleiuom to an older Greek form that still had /w/ between the vowels, and calls the Greek word Mediterranean substrate;^[7][9][4] Devoto–Oli and the GDLI call it pre-Indo-European.^[7][9][4] DELI notes that some consider the adaptation unusual.^[6]

Together with olīva (“olive”), the word came into Latin from a Doric colony of southern Italy whose dialect still kept the /w/, lost in Ionic-Attic; the Latin initial /o/ came from the rounding of the vowel before a velar /l/.^[7] Pliny reports, after Fenestella, that there were no olive trees in Italy, Spain or Africa in the reign of Tarquinius Priscus (581 BC).^[6]

The Latin word gave Old French oil, the source of the English oil, and French huile, Occitan oli and Catalan oli; it also passed into Old High German oli, the source of German Öl.^[7] oliario is a learned word from oleārium (“oil jar”), and oliera comes from the northern dialects, adapting French huilier.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in B. Giamboni before 1292, for the liquid, fatty substance that does not dissolve in water;^[6][8] GRADIT dates the word to the second half of the 13th century.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

Boccaccio used it for a cosmetic oil (1348–1353), and in the Decameron a character wishes for at least tant’olio, che n’arda la nostra lucerna (“enough oil to keep our lamp burning”).^[6][2] oliandolo, the seller of oil, is recorded before 1312.^[7]

Some phrases have Latin parallels: oleo tranquillior ‘calmer than oil’ and oleum addere camino ‘to pour oil on the fire’.^[6] The old custom of pouring oil on the sea to calm a storm survives in gettare olio sulle onde.^[6] oliare ‘to oil’ appears in Florio's dictionary in 1598, and sottolio ‘in oil’ in 1803.^[6][7] Machines brought the lubricating oil and the oliatore (1925), and painting the oil colours, the technique and the painting itself.^[6][8] Bulgarian borrowed the word as Bulgarian олио (olio).^[1]

Timeline

• Before 1292 – B. Giamboni uses olio.^[6]
• Before 1312 – Oliandolo ‘oil seller’ is recorded.^[7]
• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses it for a cosmetic oil.^[6]
• Before 1502 – Oliario in the work of Martini.^[6]
• 1598 – Oliare in Florio.^[6]
• 1640 – Ogliera in Oudin's dictionary.^[6]
• 1803 – Sottolio is recorded.^[7]
• 1925 – Oliatore, a tool for oiling machines.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. oil: a liquid, greasy substance that does not dissolve in water, of vegetable, animal or mineral origin.^[8][9][5]
2. Edible oil, especially olive oil, used for dressing and cooking food: Aggiungi un filo d’olio sulle verdure.^[8][10][3]
3. Lubricating oil: cambiare l’olio (to change the oil of an engine).^[8][11]
4. (painting) The oil used to mix colours; the technique of oil painting; an oil painting: un olio del Seicento.^[8][12]
5. A cosmetic oil.^[8]
6. Lamp oil.^[8]

Word family

• oliare
• oliato
• oliatore
• oliatura
• oliera
• oliandolo
• sottolio

Related words

• oliva
• olivo
• oliario
• Latin oleum
• Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion)

Usage notes

Common phrases are liscio come l’olio ‘smooth as oil’, of a calm sea or of something that goes without a hitch, a macchia d’olio ‘spreading fast’, gettare olio sul fuoco ‘to add fuel to the fire’ and olio di gomito ‘elbow grease’.^[8][11][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
3. ^ a b Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
4. ^ a b c d Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca, p. 11, 873
5. ^ a b Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b c d Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
10. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
11. ^ a b Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana
12. ^ Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse