Oiliest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The greatest level of slickness or greasiness that a substance can exhibit
2. The utmost condition of being coated or filled with oil, indicating an extreme measure of oiliness
3. Exhibiting the highest degree of oil coverage or saturation on its surface

Etymology: "Oiliest" is simply the superlative of "oily", so its history is that of its base word. "Oily" came into English from Middle English "oylei", formed by adding the suffix "-y" (meaning "having the qualities of" or "full of") to "oil". The same pattern appears in German "ölig" and Swedish "oljig", which were formed the same way from their own words for oil. The superlative "-iest" follows the regular English rule for two-syllable adjectives ending in "-y": the "y" changes to "i" before the ending is added, giving "oilier" in the comparative and "oiliest" in the superlative.