Eyle

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. An archaic word for oil, the greasy liquid used for anointing or lamps ; an old verb meaning to afflict or trouble someone with pain or sickness
2. An obsolete term for oil, a fatty or greasy substance ; a dated verb meaning to cause someone suffering, illness or distress
3. A Middle English noun denoting oil or an unguent ; an obsolete verb used to mean to ail, sicken or disturb a person

Etymology: Before English had a general word for oil, it had "ele," borrowed early from Latin "oleum." That Latin word came from Greek "elaion," which meant olive oil and was named for the olive tree, "elaia." Oil was first the product of the olive, and the Anglo-Saxons took the term before the Norman Conquest. "Eyle" is a later Middle English form of that same word, used for oil generally, including the oils used in anointing. Its sense of greasy or old oil reflects how the term was used for oil that had gone thick or stale. Oil itself came back into English later, reborrowed from Old French "oile," which also descended from Latin "oleum." English thus ended up with two forms of one word, a doublet. Eyle faded from use, while oil became the standard term.