Etymology

oily

O1I1L1Y4

Today it means: Covered with or containing oil. Full definition →

Middle English oylei
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The story

  1. Middle English · inherited fromoylei
  2. English todayoily

From Middle English oylei, equivalent to oil + -y. Compare German ölig (“oily”), Swedish oljig (“oily”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.