oily

English

Alternative forms

• oyly (obsolete)

Etymology

From oil + -y.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔɪli

Adjective

oily (comparative oilier, superlative oiliest)

1. Relating to oil.
2. Smeared with or containing oil.
3. (figuratively) Excessively friendly or polite so as to sound insincere.

Derived terms

• smell of an oily rag

Translations

relating to oil

• Czech: olejový (cs)
• Finnish: öljyinen (fi)
• Russian: масляный (ru) (másl'anyj)

• Scottish Gaelic: olach (gd)
• Swedish: compounds with olja (sv)

smeared with or containing oil

• Czech: olejnatý (cs)
• Finnish: öljyinen (fi)
• French: huileux (fr)
• German: ölig (de)
• Hungarian: olajos (hu)

• Jèrriais: huileux
• Russian: масляный (másl'anyj), маслянистый (masl'anístyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: olach (gd)
• Swedish: oljig (sv)

excessively friendly or polite

• Czech: podlézavý (cs)
• Finnish: lipevä (fi)

• Russian: елейный (ru) (jel'éjnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: sliomach (gd)

Noun

oily (plural oilies)

1. A marble with an oily lustre.
   • 1998, Joanna Cole, Stephanie Calmenson, Michael Street, Marbles: 101 ways to play

     Lustered (also called lusters, rainbows, oilies, and pearls)

   • 2001, Paul Webley, The economic psychology of everyday life (page 39)

     But marbles are not only used to play games: they are also traded. In this market, the value of the different kinds of marbles (oilies, emperors, etc.) is determined by local supply and demand and not by the price of the marbles […]