Definition of oleaginous
1 : resembling or having the properties of oil : oily; also : containing or producing oil
2 : marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality
oleaginously
adverboleaginousness
nounFrom the M-W Editors
oleaginous was our Word of the Day on 09/05/2014. Hear the podcast!
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Examples of oleaginous in a Sentence
the office manager greeted the corporate bigwigs with an oleaginous welcome that should have embarrassed him
Did You Know?
The oily oleaginous slipped into English through Middle French, coming from the Latin oleagineus, meaning "of an olive tree." Oleagineus itself is from the Latin olea, meaning "olive tree," and ultimately from the Greek elaia, meaning "olive." Oleaginous was at first used in a literal sense, as it still can be. An oleaginous substance is simply oily, and an oleaginous plant produces oil. The word took on its extended "ingratiating" sense in the 19th century.
Origin and Etymology of oleaginous
Middle English, from Middle French oleagineux, from Latin oleagineus of an olive tree, from olea olive tree, from Greek elaia
Other Biochemistry Terms
Medical Dictionary
oleaginous
playMedical Definition of oleaginous
: resembling or having the properties of oil; also : containing or producing oil
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