English → Latin
“oil” in Latin
oleumolive oil; the palaestraŏlīvumOilpūrusclear, limpid; clean; puremundusclean, pure; neat; nice, fine, elegant, sophisticated; decorated, adornedliquidusliquid, fluid, flowing; clear, transparent, limpid; without interruption, smooth, fluid, flowingcatusclever, intelligent, sagacious, clear-thinking; cunning, crafty, sly; shrill, sharp, clear-soundingcorrumpōto pervert, corrupt, deprave or infect; to gain to oneself by gifts, etc.; bribe; to spoil or rot
The English word oil itself goes back to Latin oleum.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
oil s.
oleum (general term; but PROP., olive oil): olivum, oleum olivarum (olive oil): pure, sweet, clear oil, oleum purum (Cato); mundum (Pall.); liquidum, optimum, non insuavis odoris, egregii saporis (Col.): old, bad, rancid oil, oleum vetus (Col.); corruptum (Caes.); sordidum (Pall.): to press oil, oleum facere: to add oil to the flame, oleum addere camino (Hor., Sat., 2, 3, 321): to supply a lamp with oil, oleum lumini instillare: of or belonging to oil, olearius: dregs of oil, faeces (plur.); amurca (impurities in pressing): an oil painting, imago oleatis pigmentis picta; pictura pigmentis oleatis facta: an oil cask, dolium olearium: the smell of oil, odor olei; odor oleaceus (like oil): the taste of oil, sapor olei; sapor oleaceus (like oil).
oil v.
oleo unguere (Hor., Sat.); oleo perfundere aliquid (Verg.).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for oil?
- The usual Latin words for “oil” are oleum, ŏlīvum, pūrus; also mundus, liquidus, catus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.