[Loch-Ruadh] word of the day - "oleaginous"

Jane Sitton lymadelina at yahoo.com
Mon Sep 23 10:30:29 PDT 2002


The Word of the Day for September 23 is:

oleaginous • \oh-lee-ADGE-uh-nuss\ • (adjective)  1:
resembling or having the properties of oil :oily; also
: containing or producing oil  *2:  marked by an
offensively ingratiating manner or quality

Example sentence:

Kelly spoke to her boss with an oleaginous deference
that made her coworkers cringe.

Did you know?

The oily "oleaginous" slipped into English through
Middle French, coming from the Latin "oleaginus,"
meaning "of an olive tree."  "Oleaginus" came 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.

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