olive

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
olive/ˈɒlɪv/

▶noun

• 1 a small oval fruit with a hard stone and bitter flesh, green when unripe and bluish black when ripe, used as food and as a source of oil.

• 2 (also olive tree) the small evergreen tree which produces olives, native to warm regions of the Old World. [Olea europaea.]

• 3 (also olive green) a greyish-green colour.

• 4 [as modifier] (of the complexion) yellowish brown.

• 5 a slice of beef or veal made into a roll with stuffing inside and stewed.

• 6 (also olive shell) a marine mollusc with a smooth, roughly cylindrical shell. [Genus Oliva.]

• 7 Anatomy each of a pair of smooth, oval swellings in the medulla oblongata.

• 8 a metal ring or fitting tightened under a threaded nut to form a seal.

– origin ME: via OFr. from L. oliva, from Gk elaia, from elaion ‘oil’.