olive
/ˈɑ.lɪv/noun, adjective
olive is spelled O-L-I-V-E: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Olive, the name). As a noun, olive means “A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of olive is olives.
How many letters and syllables are in olive?
| Letters | 5: O-L-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is olive?
Olive appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Olive, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce olive?
- UK /ˈɒ.lɪv/
- US /ˈɑ.lɪv/
Olive has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-olive.ogg, En-us-olive.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with olive?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as olive (/ɑlɪv/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lovie, voile, viole.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of olive
- olives plural
- more olive comparative
- most olive superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does olive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A tree of species Olea europaea cultivated since ancient times in the Mediterranean for its fruit and the oil obtained from it.
- 2
The small oval fruit of this tree, eaten ripe (usually black) or unripe (usually green).
- 3
The wood of the olive tree.
- 4
A dark yellowish-green color, that of an unripe olive.
- 5
An olivary body, part of the medulla oblongata.
- 6
A component of a plumbing compression joint; a ring which is placed between the nut and the pipe and compressed during fastening to provide a seal.
- 7
A small slice of meat seasoned, rolled up, and cooked.
a beef olive
- 8
Any shell of the genus Oliva and allied genera; so called from the shape.
adjective
- 1
Of a grayish green color, that of an unripe olive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Olive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | olive |
| German | Olive , oliv, olivfarben, olivfarbig |
| Portuguese | azeitona, oliva , verde-oliva, verde-azeitona , oliveira |
| Spanish | aceituna, oliva , aceitunado , olivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does olive come from?
From Middle English olyve, from Old French olive (“olive, olive tree”), from Latin olīva (“olive”), itself from either Etruscan *𐌄𐌋𐌄𐌉𐌅𐌀 (*eleiva), Proto-Hellenic *elaíwā (compare Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀷 (e-ra-wa), Ancient Greek ἐλαίᾱ (elaíā)), or the same source as those two. In any case, ultimately from a Mediterranean Pre-Greek source, possibly Proto-Berber *wlw (“wild olive”). More questionably, maybe from Proto-Indo-European *loiwom (compare Old Church Slavonic лои (loi, “tallow”), Old Armenian եւղ (ewł, “oil”)). Doublet of oliva and oil.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).