Meanings
plural oilmen
- 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
- Proto-Hellenic*élaiwon
- Ancient Greekἔλαιον (élaion)
- Latinoleum
- Latinolea
- Old Frenchoile
- Middle Englishoyle
- Englishoil
- Proto-Indo-European*mon-
- Proto-Germanic*mann-
- Proto-West Germanic*mann
- Old Englishmann
- Middle Englishman
- Englishoilman
Translations
Catalan petrolier, petroliera
- petrolierTranslations
- petrolieraTranslations
Polish nafciarz
- nafciarzTranslations
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
oilman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman
“oilman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oilman,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oilman.
Source: oilman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.