French word

olive

Pronunciation

IPA/oliv/

Meaning

  • feminine nounolive

Example

Prends une olive si tu veux.

Take an olive if you want.

Illustration for olive (olive)

More examples

Pour l'apéritif, j'ouvre un bocal d'olives.

For an aperitif, I open a jar of olives.

Core concept

The oval fruit of the olive tree, whether fresh-looking, preserved, or reduced to oil.

Common phrases

  • huile d'olive

    olive oil

  • bocal d'olives

    jar of olives

  • olive verte

    green olive

Similar words

olive de table: A cured or seasoned olive prepared for eating.
huile d'olive: Oil pressed from olives and used to add flavor in cooking.

Definition in French

Fruit comestible de l'olivier, de forme ovale, généralement vert ou noir, consommé entier ou transformé en huile.

Word origin

Olive entered French through Latin oliva, itself borrowed from Greek ἐλαία, and its history includes the linked notions of fruit and oil.

Usage tips

  • In vert olive, olive functions as an invariable color modifier, so it does not take a feminine or plural ending.

Related words

Word lists with this word