Meaning

noun a slippery or viscous liquid or liquefiable substance not miscible with water

noun oil paint containing pigment that is used by an artist

noun a dark oil consisting mainly of hydrocarbons

originFrom Middle English oyle, oile (“olive oil”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman olie, from Latin oleum (“oil, olive oil”), from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”), from ἐλαία (elaía, “olive”). Compare Proto-Slavic *lojь. More at olive. Doublet of oleum. Supplanted Middle English ele (“oil”), from Old English ele (“oil”), also from Latin.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0