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Glite Dictionary
Kalamata olive

Kalamata olive

1 3.5
A dark purple olive with an almond shape from Greece used in salads
  • noun
  • /kəˈlɑːmətə ˈɒlɪv/
translation icon : aceituna Kalamata
  • pitted Kalamata olives
  • chopped Kalamata olives
  • sliced Kalamata olives

Examples

  • They shifted in their seats around the aroma-rich tables laden with stuffed grape leaves and Kalamata olives, with Salonika peppers.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • For a delicious Mediterranean salad, be sure to add some Kalamata olives for their rich flavor.

  • I always include Kalamata olives when I make bruschetta; they add a nice touch to the dish.

  • The tapenade was made with finely chopped Kalamata olives, which gave it a deep, savory taste.

Synonyms

olive
vsKalamata olive
40 1.0

A small evergreen tree that produces edible fruit and oil

refers instead to the edible purple almond shaped fruit used in dishes
black olive
vsKalamata olive
5 1.4

A ripe dark olive preserved in salt water or oil and used in cooking

is a named Greek almond shaped dark purple variety often in Mediterranean salads

Surface Forms

Kalamata olive singular
Kalamata olives plural

Morphology

Kalamata + olive

This is a straightforward place-name + noun construction: 'Kalamata' (a location/variety) + 'olive' (the fruit), so the meaning 'an olive from Kalamata / a variety of olive originating in Kalamata, Greece' is directly derivable from the parts. Place‑name + product/type patterns are common across languages, making this immediately comprehensible to learners who know the constituents.

Etymology

Kalamata olive comes from the city of Kalamata in Greece, where dark, almond-shaped olives are grown. That's why the name now means that particular rich, dark purple olive used in salads.