oily en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈɔɪli/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English oylei, equivalent to oil + -y. Compare German ölig (“oily”), Swedish oljig (“oily”).
Meanings
-
Covered with or containing oil.
[…] overdressed young men of enigmatic appearance, with oily thick hair, shifty eyes, and hands covered with cheap rings, swaggered about smoking cigarettes and talking in loud, ostentatious voices.
1917, Robert Hichens, Wilderness, Chapter:His clothes were apt to look oily and smell of eating-houses.
1853, Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, in The Piazza Tales, New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, published 1856:oily machinery; oily rags; oily fish; oily cooking
Dyes listed with the word “lake” indicate the dye is a fat-soluble version, meaning it can dissolve in oily foods or drinks.
2025 March 29, Kristen Rogers, “Over half of US states are trying to eliminate food dyes. Here’s what you can do now”, in CNN:
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Resembling oil.
There were no breakers and no waves, for not a breath of wind was stirring. Only a slight oily swell rose and fell like a gentle breathing, and showed that the eternal sea was still moving and living.
1895 May 29, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “After the Story”, in The Time Machine: An Invention, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 195:oily swells; oily seas
-
(figuratively) Excessively friendly or polite but insincere.
[…] for I want that glib and oyly Art, To ſpeake and purpoſe not, ſince what I well entend Ile do’t before I ſpeake, […]
c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i]:‘He had an inflexible will beneath all that oily kindness which passed for spiritual […]’
1914, Algernon Blackwood, The Damned:Mr. Carker the Manager, sly of manner, sharp of tooth, soft of foot, watchful of eye, oily of tongue, cruel of heart, nice of habit, sat with a dainty stedfastness and patience at his work, as if he were waiting at a mouse’s hole.
1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, “A Trifle of Management by Mr. Carker the Manager”, in Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC, page 211:Near-synonyms: slick, buttery; smarmy
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| oilier | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| oyly | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| oiliest | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
oiliness · unoily · oilily · oily rag · nonoily · oily bitterling · oily rice · oily-wad · smell of an oily rag · oilyish
Relateds
oilseed · olive-oily · oilfish
Synonyms
oilish · oillike · smarmy · slick · buttery
Translations (70)
ru ма́сляный (covered with or containing oil) · or ତେଲିଆ (covered with or containing oil) · pl przypochlebny (excessively friendly or polite) · tr yağımsı (relating to oil) · gl oleoso (relating to oil) · alt майлу (covered with or containing oil) · fr huileux (covered with or containing oil) · kk майлы (covered with or containing oil) · cs podlézavý (excessively friendly or polite) · nb oljeaktig (relating to oil) · ms berminyak (covered with or containing oil) · pt oleaginoso (relating to oil) · pt oleento (relating to oil) · pl tłusty (covered with or containing oil) · nrf huileux (covered with or containing oil) · de ölig (relating to oil) · pl oleisty (covered with or containing oil) · mi hinuhinu (covered with or containing oil) · bg маслен (relating to oil) · grc λιπαρός (covered with or containing oil) · as তেলীয়া (relating to oil) · fi öljyinen (covered with or containing oil) · bg ласкателен (excessively friendly or polite) · as তেলাল (covered with or containing oil) · ro uleios (covered with or containing oil) · sv oljig (covered with or containing oil) · de ölhaltig (covered with or containing oil) · pl olejowy (relating to oil) · ky майлуу (covered with or containing oil) · es oleaginoso (covered with or containing oil) · pl wazeliniarski (excessively friendly or polite) · cs olejnatý (covered with or containing oil) · alt майлу (relating to oil) · ru масляни́стый (covered with or containing oil) · fi öljyinen (relating to oil) · hu olajos (covered with or containing oil) · pt oleento (covered with or containing oil) · bg промазан (covered with or containing oil) · ro gras (covered with or containing oil) · gd olach (relating to oil) · pt oleoso (covered with or containing oil) · pt oleaginoso (covered with or containing oil) · tr yağlı (covered with or containing oil) · yi אייליק (covered with or containing oil) · ar دُهْنِيّ (covered with or containing oil) · gd sliomach (excessively friendly or polite) · nn oljeaktig (relating to oil) · fi lipevä (excessively friendly or polite) · xdq ява́ (covered with or containing oil) · fa روغنی (relating to oil) · eo olea (covered with or containing oil) · es oleoso (covered with or containing oil) · kk майлы (relating to oil) · tr yağsı (relating to oil) · ky майлуу (relating to oil) · pt oleoso (relating to oil) · ar زَيْتِيّ (covered with or containing oil) · ru еле́йный (excessively friendly or polite) · ar زَيْتِيّ (relating to oil) · nl oliehoudend (covered with or containing oil) · es aceitoso (covered with or containing oil) · mr तेलकट (covered with or containing oil) · as তেলীয়া (covered with or containing oil) · ru ма́сляный (relating to oil) · cs olejový (relating to oil) · nl olieachtig (relating to oil) · fr onctueux (excessively friendly or polite) · sv compounds with olja (relating to oil) · pdt eeljich (covered with or containing oil) · gd olach (covered with or containing oil)