ŏlĕum, i, n., = e)/laion, oil, olive-oil.I.Lit., Cato, R. R. 64 sq.; Varr. R. R. 1, 55; Col. 12, 50; Plin. 15, 6, 6, 21; Lex. Thor. lin. 95 Rudorff. p. 191: instillare oleum lumini, Cic. Sen. 11, 36: juventus Nudatos umeros oleo perfusa nitescit, Verg. A. 5, 135; Ov. Tr. 3, 12, 21: ungere caules oleo meliore, Hor. S. 2, 3, 125; Inscr. Orell. 748: BALNEVM CVM OLEO GRATVITO DEDIT, ib. 3738. —As a fig. of softness, gentleness: oleo tranquillior,
quieter
,
gentler
,
stiller than oil
, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 66.—Prov.: oleum et operam perdere (alluding to nocturnal labors),
to lose one's time and trouble
,
to spend them in vain
, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 119; Cic. Fam. 7, 1, 3: ne et opera et oleum philologiae nostrae perierit, id. Att. 2, 17, 1; cf.: ante lucem cum scriberem contra Epicureos, de eodem oleo et operā exaravi nescio quid ad te, id. ib. 13, 38, 1: petit hic (labor) plus temporis atque olei plus, Juv. 7, 99: oleum addere camino, to add oil to the fire, i. e. to aggravate an evil, Hor. S. 2, 3, 321 (cf. the Gr. pi/tth| kai\ e)lai/w| pu=r katasbennu/nai).—II.Trop.A.The palœstra (from the use of oil to anoint the bodies of wrestlers): ego eram decus olei, Cat. 63, 65.—B.Transf., literary contests or rhetorical exercises: genus verborum nitidum, sed palaestrae magis et olei, quam hujus civilis turbae ac fori,
more proper for exercises in the school or for disputations
,
than for use in public
, Cic. de Or. 1, 18, 81.—C. (In eccl. Lat.) The spirit, inspiration: unxit te Deus oleo exultationis, Vulg. Heb. 1, 9; id. Isa. 61, 3.