Ŏl'ĭve, n.
[Fr. olive, Pr., Sp., It., & Lat. oliva, Gr. ἐλαία.]
Sense 1. (Bot.) (a.) A plant or tree (the Olea Europæa), the emblem of peace. The common olive-tree grows in warm climates, and rises to the height of twenty or thirty feet, having an upright stem with numerous branches. This tree is much cultivated, in the south of Europe, for its fruit. (b.) The fruit of Olea Europæa, from which is expressed the olive-oil, and which is used also for pickles.
Sense 2. (Ornith.) A certain bird; the oyster-catcher.
Sense 3. (Conch.) The shell of a gasteropod mollusk, having the form of an olive, and a beautifully polished surface; rice-shell.
Sense 4. The color of the olive; a color composed of violet and green mixed in equal strength and proportion. Fairholt.
☞ The term is very commonly employed to designate a dark brownish green color, such as would be produced by mixing green with brown or yellowish-brown.
☞ Olive is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, olive-branch, olive-brown, olive-colored, olive-crown, olive-garden, olive-green, olive-skinned, olive-tree, olive-wood, olive-yard, and the like.