oilman

O1I1L1M3A1N1

noun

Somebody (especially a man) involved in the production, refinement or delivery of oil; such as an oil field worker or executive, or the owner of an oil well.

UncommonScrabble 8

Meanings

nounoilman (plural oilmen)

plural oilmen

  1. Somebody (especially a man) involved in the production, refinement or delivery of oil; such as an oil field worker or executive, or the owner of an oil well.
  2. datedA retailer who sells vegetable oils, and food preserved in oil

    If the wife buys fish or vegetables in the street, as is generally done, she will, at the same time, buy her piece of bacon or cheese at the cheesemonger’s, her small quantity of tea and sugar at the grocer’s, her fire-wood at the oilman’s, or her pound of beef or liver at the butcher’s.

    1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, published 1861

Origin

  1. Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
  2. Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
  3. Latinoleum
  4. Latinolea
  5. Old Frenchoile
  6. Middle Englishoyle
  7. Englishoil
  8. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  9. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  10. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  11. Old Englishmann
  12. Middle Englishman
  13. Englishoilman

From oil + -man.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan petrolier, petroliera
  • petrolierTranslations
  • petrolieraTranslations
Polish nafciarz
  • nafciarzTranslations

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

oilman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman

MLA

“oilman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oilman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman.

Source: oilman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.