grease

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a thick oily or fatty substance, especially one used to lubricate machinery

   Apply a thin layer of grease to the bicycle bearings.

2. 2
   verb

   to coat or lubricate something with grease or another fatty substance

   Grease the baking tin before adding the batter.

3. 3
   verb

   informal: to make a process proceed more easily, sometimes by bribery

   A discreet payment was used to grease the wheels of the permit process.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Grease ultimately comes from Latin crassus, “thick” or “fat.” In medieval English it referred to an animal’s bodily fat or to fatness generally.

From Middle English grece, borrowed from Anglo-Norman grece, 'fat,' ultimately from a Vulgar Latin noun based on Latin crassus, 'thick or fat.' It is therefore a doublet of crass. The figurative verb treats influence or payment as lubricant that makes a process move smoothly.

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary