olive oil, pale yellow to greenish oil obtained from the pulp of olives by separating the liquids from solids. Olive oil was used in the ancient world for lighting, in the preparation of food, and as an anointing oil for both ritual and cosmetic purposes. It is produced mainly in Algeria, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey. The characteristics of the oil vary with the climate, cultivation, and variety of olive. Olive oil is one of the most digestible of the edible oils. To make the finest, or extra-virgin olive oil, the fruit is gathered when fully ripened, ground to a paste under granite or steel millstones, layered over straw mats, and pressed in a hydraulic press. Today, most olive oil is produced by just one pressing. The resulting oil is separated from the juice by settling or by centrifuge and then filtered. Olive oil of good quality is ready to use, without further refinement. Although olive oil occupies a relatively minor place in world food consumption, it has, in recent years, become a stronger export item, and a succession of international agreements have been signed since 1959 to protect its market. Olive oil is now the third best-selling cooking oil in the United States. Both gourmets and health professionals have praised its qualities, thereby contributing to its growing popularity. Olive oil is a monounsaturated fat and, unlike butter, lard, and other fats, contains a large proportion of easily digested fats and no cholesterol. Olive oil is also a good source of vitamin E, which is thought to help protect humans against cancer and heart disease. The principal fat in the diet of countries where it has long been cultivated, olive oil is often used in place of cream and butter and as a cooking fat and salad oil. Although olive oil is chiefly used as a food or in food preservation, it is also used in soaps, certain pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics.

olive, common name for the Oleaceae, a family of trees and shrubs (including climbing forms) of warm temperate climates and of the Old World tropics, especially Asia and the East Indies. Many are popular ornamentals, particularly the lilac (Syringa), true jasmine (Jasminum), privet (Ligustrum), and forsythia genera; none of these has species native to the United States. Several indigenous species of ash (Fraxinus) are valuable for timber in North America. The true olive (Olea europaea) is the source of the fruit also called olive and of olive oil; it is the most commercially important member of the family. The olive tree, a small evergreen, has been cultivated since the beginning of historical times in its native Asia Minor. Its cultivation spread very early to all the Mediterranean countries, and this is still the chief area of production. It is now grown also in Australia, S Africa, Mexico, and California, where it was introduced (c.1769) at the San Diego mission by Spanish missionaries. The mission olive of today, one of the best varieties for both pickling and oil, was developed from the trees grown at the mission. The several hundred horticultural varieties of olives, many cultivated since ancient times, differ in appearance, flavor, and oil content. Some varieties have been developed especially for oil extraction, the chief use of the fruit. Of the eating olives, green olives are picked when full-grown but unripe, and are often pitted and stuffed with pimientos or anchovies. Ripe olives, usually purplish black, are richer in oil. Both green and ripe olives are treated with lye to remove the bitter quality and then packed in brine. Olive wood, hard and close-grained, is used for cabinetwork and furniture. According to Greek mythology the olive was Athena's gift to mankind, and Athens was named in her honor for this gift. The olive branch has been the symbol of peace since before Christian times, because the oil could be used both to heal human ills and to calm troubled waters. The first vegetation seen by Noah after the Deluge was the branch of olive brought back by the dove, and a dove bearing an olive branch has also been used in art as a symbol of peace. Olives are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Scrophulariales, family Oleaceae.

Schreiner, Olive, pseud. Ralph Iron, 1855-1920, South African author and feminist, b. Wittebergen Reserve, Cape Colony. After several years as a governess, she went to England in 1881, taking with her the manuscript of her famous novel, The Story of an African Farm (1883). The novel, which has been likened to Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, is an intense story of two children living in the African veldt; it was controversial because of its feminist and anti-Christian sentiments. Her later works included Dreams (1921), a collection of allegories; Women and Labour (1911); and a significant novel, unfinished, From Man to Man (1926). Her letters were edited (1924) by her husband, S. C. Cronwright-Schreiner, who also wrote her biography (1923, repr. 1973).

Fremstad, Olive Nayan, 1871-1951, Swedish-American soprano; pupil of Lilli Lehmann. She came to the United States as a child. After her European debut (Cologne, 1895), she sang contralto roles until she returned to the United States to sing dramatic soprano parts at the Metropolitan Opera, New York (1903-14). She retired in 1920.

Subtropical, broad-leaved tree (Olea europaea) or its edible fruit. The olive was being grown on the island of Crete circa 3500 BC, and Semitic peoples apparently were cultivating it as early as 3000 BC. Its cultivation was important to the ancient Greeks and Romans and spread to all the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Today olives are grown primarily for olive oil, valued both for its distinctive taste and fragrance and for its dietary benefits. Fresh olives must be treated to neutralize their extreme bitterness before they can be eaten. The olive family (Oleaceae) comprises about 900 species in 24 genera of woody plants. Native to forested regions, members of the family grow worldwide except in the Arctic; they are evergreen in tropical and warm temperate climes and deciduous in colder zones. The family includes ash trees, which yield hardwood timber, and horticultural favourites such as the lilac, jasmine, privet, and forsythia. Many members of the family are cultivated for their beautiful and fragrant flowers.

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(born March 24, 1855, Wittebergen, Cape Colony—died Dec. 11, 1920, Cape Town, S.Af.) South African writer. She had no formal education but read widely, developing a powerful intellect and militantly feminist and liberal views. After working as a governess she published (as Ralph Iron) the semiautobiographical The Story of an African Farm (1883). The first great South African novel, it concerns a girl living on an isolated farm in the veld who struggles to attain independence in the face of rigid Boer social conventions. Her later works include Trooper Peter Halkett of Mashonaland (1897), attacking Cecil Rhodes, and Woman and Labour (1911), an acclaimed bible of the women's movement.

Learn more about Schreiner, Olive (Emilie Albertina) with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born March 24, 1855, Wittebergen, Cape Colony—died Dec. 11, 1920, Cape Town, S.Af.) South African writer. She had no formal education but read widely, developing a powerful intellect and militantly feminist and liberal views. After working as a governess she published (as Ralph Iron) the semiautobiographical The Story of an African Farm (1883). The first great South African novel, it concerns a girl living on an isolated farm in the veld who struggles to attain independence in the face of rigid Boer social conventions. Her later works include Trooper Peter Halkett of Mashonaland (1897), attacking Cecil Rhodes, and Woman and Labour (1911), an acclaimed bible of the women's movement.

Learn more about Schreiner, Olive (Emilie Albertina) with a free trial on Britannica.com.