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Glite Dictionary
oil of wintergreen

oil of wintergreen

1 7.5
An oil from a small plant that smells strong and flavors foods and soothes pain
  • noun
  • /ɔɪl əv ˈwɪntərˌɡrin/
  • Specialized
translation icon : aceite de gaulteria
  • The recipe calls for a few drops of oil of wintergreen to enhance its flavor.

Examples

  • I added a few drops of oil of wintergreen to my tea.

  • Some massage balms contain oil of wintergreen for its soothing properties.

  • As a child, she recognized the smell of oil of wintergreen in her grandmother’s remedies.

  • The dentist used oil of wintergreen to flavor the mouthwash.

  • The oil of wintergreen has a strong minty flavor.

  • Many people use oil of wintergreen as a natural remedy for muscle pain.

  • The aroma of oil of wintergreen makes it a popular ingredient in herbal teas.

Synonyms

wintergreen oil
vsoil of wintergreen
5.8

A fragrant oil from wintergreen leaves used to flavor toothpaste and ease muscle aches

is the more traditional name for the same volatile oil from a creeping plant

Surface Forms

oil of wintergreen singular
oils of wintergreen plural

Morphology

oil + of + wintergreen

The meaning 'an oil obtained from the wintergreen plant' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'oil' (a plant-derived liquid) with 'wintergreen' (the plant), with 'of' marking source/composition. This is a common noun+of+source construction cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Oil of wintergreen comes from a strong-smelling oil made from the leaves of the wintergreen plant. Because people used that minty oil to flavor sweets and to soothe pain, the name now means the plant oil used as a 'flavor' and in 'medicine'.