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Oil
(Oil) n. [OE. oile, OF. oile, F. huile, fr. L. oleum; akin to Gr. . Cf. Olive.] Any one of a great
variety of unctuous combustible substances, not miscible with water; as, olive oil, whale oil, rock oil,
etc. They are of animal, vegetable, or mineral origin and of varied composition, and they are variously
used for food, for solvents, for anointing, lubrication, illumination, etc. By extension, any substance of an
oily consistency; as, oil of vitriol.
The mineral oils are varieties of petroleum. See Petroleum. The vegetable oils are of two classes,
essential oils and natural oils which in general resemble the animal oils and fats. Most of the natural
oils and the animal oils and fats consist of ethereal salts of glycerin, with a large number of organic
acids, principally stearic, oleic, and palmitic, forming respectively stearin, olein, and palmitin. Stearin and
palmitin prevail in the solid oils and fats, and olein in the liquid oils. Mutton tallow, beef tallow, and lard
are rich in stearin, human fat and palm oil in palmitin, and sperm and cod-liver oils in olein. In making
soaps, the acids leave the glycerin and unite with the soda or potash.
Animal oil, Bone oil, Dipple's oil, etc. (Old Chem.), a complex oil obtained by the distillation of
animal substances, as bones. See Bone oil, under Bone. — Drying oils, Essential oils. (Chem.)
See under Drying, and Essential. — Ethereal oil of wine, Heavy oil of wine. (Chem.) See under
Ethereal. — Fixed oil. (Chem.) See under Fixed. — Oil bag (Zoöl.), a bag, cyst, or gland in animals,
containing oil. — Oil beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle of the genus Meloe and allied genera. When disturbed
they emit from the joints of the legs a yellowish oily liquor. Some species possess vesicating properties,
and are used instead of cantharides. — Oil box, or Oil cellar (Mach.), a fixed box or reservoir, for
lubricating a bearing; esp., the box for oil beneath the journal of a railway-car axle. — Oil cake. See
under Cake. — Oil cock, a stopcock connected with an oil cup. See Oil cup. — Oil color. (a)
A paint made by grinding a coloring substance in oil. (b) Such paints, taken in a general sense. —
Oil cup, a cup, or small receptacle, connected with a bearing as a lubricator, and usually provided
with a wick, wire, or adjustable valve for regulating the delivery of oil. — Oil engine, a gas engine
worked with the explosive vapor of petroleum. - - Oil gas, inflammable gas procured from oil, and
used for lighting streets, houses, etc. — Oil gland. (a) (Zoöl.) A gland which secretes oil; especially
in birds, the large gland at the base of the tail. (b) (Bot.) A gland, in some plants, producing oil. —
Oil green, a pale yellowish green, like oil. — Oil of brick, empyreumatic oil obtained by subjecting a
brick soaked in oil to distillation at a high temperature, — used by lapidaries as a vehicle for the emery
by which stones and gems are sawn or cut. Brande & C. — Oil of talc, a nostrum made of calcined
talc, and famous in the 17th century as a cosmetic. [Obs.] B. Jonson. — Oil of vitriol (Chem.), strong
sulphuric acid; — so called from its oily consistency and from its forming the vitriols or sulphates. — Oil
of wine, &OElignanthic ether. See under &OElignanthic. — Oil painting. (a) The art of painting
in oil colors. (b) Any kind of painting of which the pigments are originally ground in oil. — Oil palm
(Bot.), a palm tree whose fruit furnishes oil, esp. Elæis Guineensis. See Elæis. — Oil sardine (Zoöl.),
an East Indian herring (Clupea scombrina), valued for its oil. — Oil shark (Zoöl.) (a) The liver shark.
(b) The tope. — Oil still, a still for hydrocarbons, esp. for petroleum. — Oil test, a test for determining
the temperature at which petroleum oils give off vapor which is liable to explode. — Oil tree. (Bot.)
(a) A plant of the genus Ricinus from the seeds of which castor oil is obtained. (b) An Indian tree, the
mahwa. See Mahwa. (c) The oil palm. — To burn the midnight oil, to study or work late at night.
— Volatle oils. See Essential oils, under Essential.
Oil
(Oil) v. t. [imp. & p. p. Oiled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Oiling.] To smear or rub over with oil; to lubricate
with oil; to anoint with oil.
Oilbird
(Oil"bird`) n. (Zoöl.) See Guacharo.
Oilcloth
(Oil"cloth") n. Cloth treated with oil or paint, and used for marking garments, covering floors,
etc.
Oiled
(Oiled) a. Covered or treated with oil; dressed with, or soaked in, oil.
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