LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

oleum

oleum n (genitive oleī)
Classical[ˈɔ.ɫe.ũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈɔː.le.um]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterolive oil
  2. neuterthe palaestra

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ex oleīs fit; lucerna oleō lūcem dat; cibus oleō parātur.
oleum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Cibus et Convīvium

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeoleum
🝆		olea
🝆a
genitiveoleī
🝆ī		oleōrum
🝆ōrum
dativeoleō
🝆ō		oleīs
🝆īs
accusativeoleum
🝆um		olea
🝆a
ablativeoleō
🝆ō		oleīs
🝆īs
vocativeoleum
🝆um		olea
🝆a

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

operam (et oleum) perdere or frustra consumere
to lose one's labour.

ŏlĕum, i, n., = ἔλαιον,
I. oil, olive-oil.
I. Lit., Cato, R. R. 64 sq.; Varr. R. R. 1, 55; Col. 12, 50; Plin. 15, 6, 6, § 21; Lex. Thor. lin. 95 Rudorff. p. 191: instillare oleum lumini, Cic. Sen. 11, 36: juventus Nudatos umeros oleo perfusa nitescit, Verg. A. 5, 135; Ov. Tr. 3, 12, 21: ungere caules oleo meliore, Hor. S. 2, 3, 125; Inscr. Orell. 748: BALNEVM CVM OLEO GRATVITO DEDIT, ib. 3738. —As a fig. of softness, gentleness: oleo tranquillior, quieter, gentler, stiller than oil, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 66.—Prov.: oleum et operam perdere (alluding to nocturnal labors), to lose one's time and trouble, to spend them in vain, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 119; Cic. Fam. 7, 1, 3: ne et opera et oleum philologiae nostrae perierit, id. Att. 2, 17, 1; cf.: ante lucem cum scriberem contra Epicureos, de eodem oleo et operā exaravi nescio quid ad te, id. ib. 13, 38, 1: petit hic (labor) plus temporis atque olei plus, Juv. 7, 99: oleum addere camino, to add oil to the fire, i. e. to aggravate an evil, Hor. S. 2, 3, 321 (cf. the Gr. πίττῃ καὶ ἐλαίῳ πῦρ κατασβεννύναι).—
II. Trop.
A. The palœstra (from the use of oil to anoint the bodies of wrestlers): ego eram decus olei, Cat. 63, 65.—
B. Transf., literary contests or rhetorical exercises: genus verborum nitidum, sed palaestrae magis et olei, quam hujus civilis turbae ac fori, more proper for exercises in the school or for disputations, than for use in public, Cic. de Or. 1, 18, 81.—
C. (In eccl. Lat.) The spirit, inspiration: unxit te Deus oleo exultationis, Vulg. Heb. 1, 9; id. Isa. 61, 3.

Origins

Derived from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”).

Elsewhere
  • GermanOleum
  • Englisholeumfrom German Oleum
  • Portugueseóleo
  • Romanianoleu
  • Spanishóleo
  • Spanisholio
  • Albanianvajfrom Proto-Albanian *u̯ɔλa
  • Albanianvahjfrom Proto-Albanian *u̯ɔλa
  • Albanianvalëfrom Proto-Albanian *u̯ɔλa
  • Albanianvojfrom Proto-Albanian *u̯ɔλa
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianolio
  • Italianoglio
  • Bulgarianо́лиоfrom Italian olio
  • Sicilianogghiu
  • Venetanojo
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanoli
  • Occitanòli
  • Franco-Provençalôlyo
  • Old Frenchoile
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianozu
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianvueli
  • Romanshieli
  • Romanshöli
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianòli
  • Lombardœli
  • Piedmonteseeuli
  • Romagnolöli
Ibero-Romance
  • Aragoneseolio

In English words that came into English from oleum

  • oiloleum
  • indoleoleum
  • linoleumlīnum
  • oleicoleum
  • oleiferousoleum
  • oleumoleum
  • oleoseoleōsus
  • oleosaccharumoleum
  • pinacolinoleum
  • ricinoleinricinus
  • cardololeum
  • rhigoleneoleum
  • sinapolineoleum
  • cosmolineoleum
  • serolinoleum

Quick answers

What does oleum mean in Latin?
oleum, a noun, means “olive oil; the palaestra”.
What is the genitive of oleum?
The genitive singular is oleī. oleum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce oleum?
In classical Latin, [ˈɔ.ɫe.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɔː.le.um].
Which English words come from oleum?
English words that go back to Latin oleum include oil, indole, linoleum, oleic, oleiferous and oleum.