o·le·as·ter

(ō′lē-ăs′tər)

Any of various small trees or shrubs of the family Elaeagnaceae, having olivelike fruit and silvery or brown scales on the stems and leaves, especially one of the genus Elaeagnus, such as Russian olive or silverberry.

[Middle English, from Latin, from olea, olive tree; see oleaginous.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

oleaster

(ˌəʊlɪˈæstə)

1. (Plants) any of several shrubs of the genus Elaeagnus, esp E. angustifolia, of S Europe, Asia, and North America, having silver-white twigs, yellow flowers, and an olive-like fruit: family Elaeagnaceae

2. (Plants) Also called: wild olive a wild specimen of the cultivated olive

[Latin: from olea; see olive, oil]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

o•le•as•ter

(ˌoʊ liˈæs tər)

n.

a small thorny tree, Elaeagnus angustifolia, with gray-green leaves, fragrant yellow flowers, and oval berries. Also called Russian olive.

[before 1000; Middle English < Latin: wild olive tree]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

oleaster - any of several shrubs of the genus Elaeagnus having silver-white twigs and yellow flowers followed by olivelike fruits

Elaeagnus, genus Elaeagnus - oleaster

Elaeagnus latifolia, wild olive - erect shrub or climber of India and China with red olivelike fruit

Elaeagnus commutata, silverberry, silverbush, silver-bush, silver berry - deciduous unarmed North American shrub with silvery leaves and fruits

Elaeagnus augustifolia, Russian olive, silver berry - deciduous shrubby tree of Europe and western Asia having grey leaves and small yellow fruits covered in silvery scales; sometimes spiny

bush, shrub - a low woody perennial plant usually having several major stems