Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Olive
1.
(Bot.)
(a)
A tree (
Olea Europaea
) with small oblong or elliptical leaves, axillary clusters of flowers, and oval, one-seeded drupes. The tree has been cultivated for its fruit for thousands of years, and its branches are the emblems of peace. The wood is yellowish brown and beautifully variegated. (b)
The fruit of the olive. It has been much improved by cultivation, and is used for making pickles. Olive oil is pressed from its flesh.
2.
(Zool.)
(a)
Any shell of the genus
Oliva
and allied genera; – so called from the form. See Oliva
. (b)
The oyster catcher.
[Prov. Eng.]
3.
(a)
The color of the olive, a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green.
(b)
One of the tertiary colors, composed of violet and green mixed in equal strength and proportion.
5.
(Cookery)
A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked;
as,
. olives
of beef or veal☞ Olive is sometimes used adjectively and in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, olive brown, olive green, olive-colored, olive-skinned, olive crown, olive garden, olive tree, olive yard, etc.
Ol′ive
,Adj.
Approaching the color of the olive; of a peculiar dark brownish, yellowish, or tawny green.
Webster 1828 Edition
Olive
OL'IVE
,Noun.
A plant or tree of the genus Olea. The common olive tree grows in warm climates and rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet, having an upright stem with numerous branches. This tree is much cultivated in the south of Europe for its fruit, from which is expressed the olive oil, and which is used also for pickles.