# greasy
## English
### Alternative forms

* greasey (rare)

### Etymology

From Middle English gresi, gressy, equivalent to grease +‎ -y.

### Pronunciation

* (General American) IPA: /ˈɡɹi.si/, (especially Southern U.S.) /ˈɡɹi.zi/
* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈɡɹiː.si/
* (Scotland, Ireland, some speakers in Birmingham) IPA: /ˈɡɹi.zi/
* Audio (General Australian):(file)
* Rhymes: -iːsi, -iːzi

### Adjective

greasy (comparative greasier, superlative greasiest)
* Having a slippery surface; having a surface covered with grease.
    a greasy mineral
** c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:[…] mechanic slaves With greasy aprons, rules, and hammers, shall Uplift us to the view […]
** 1961, V. S. Naipaul, A House for Mr Biswas‎, London: André Deutsch, Part One, Chapter 2, p. 54:it was in the garage that Alec worked, […] doing mysterious greasy things. Grease blackened his hairy legs; grease had turned his white canvas shoes black; grease blackened his hands even beyond the wrist; grease made his short working trousers black and stiff. Yet he had the gift, which Mr Biswas admired, of being able to hold a cigarette between greasy fingers and greasy lips without staining it.
* Containing a lot of grease or fat.
** c. 1795, Margaret Taylor, Mrs. Taylor’s Family Companion: or The Whole Art of Cookery Display’d, London: W. Lane, “To fry flat Fish,” p. 37,
    Before you dish them up, lay them upon a drainer before the fire sloping, for two or three minutes, which will prevent their eating greasy.
** 2010, Gavin Hoffen, Dandelion, page 3:With a skin full of alcohol and a probable overwhelming desire for a greasy kebab, I had evidently got myself into such a state that I was unable to locate the correct door to the fast food shop.
** 2012 May 3, Felicity Cloake, “How to cook perfect garlic bread”, in the Guardian‎:Nigel and Richard Bertinet go for butter. Jamie and Nigella both opt for olive oil, and Garten uses a mixture, spreading the bread generously with butter, then topping it with garlic and herbs in olive oil. Oil, to my taste, simply makes the bread seem greasy: it's great for dipping, but it doesn't seem to soak into the bread in the same way as butter – I've probably just got hopelessly rich Anglo-Saxon tastes, but for me, it's butter all the way.
* (slang) Shady, sketchy, dodgy, detestable, unethical.
** 2004 April 25, “Trailer Park Boys episode "Rub N Tiz'zug"”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:Julian: We're gonna fill the trailers up with furniture all right, boys, but we're gonna rent them out by the hour. Bubbles: Aw, that's greasy.
* (obsolete) Fat, bulky.
** c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:Let’s consult together against this greasy knight.
* (obsolete) Gross; indelicate; indecent.
** 1601, John Marston, Jack Drum’s Entertainment‎, London: Richard Olive, act I:Now I am perfect hate, I lou’d but three things in the world, Philosophy, Thrift, and my self. Thou hast made me hate Philosophy. A Vsurers greasie Codpeece made me loath Thrift: but if all the Brewers Iades in the town can drug me from loue of my selfe, they shall doo more then e’re the seuen wise men of Greece could […]
* (of a horse) Afflicted with the disease called grease.

#### Derived terms

* greasily
* greasiness
* greasy kid's stuff
* greasy pole
* greasy spoon
* nongreasy
* overgreasy
* ungreasy

#### Translations
### References

* ↑ “greasy”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present., has both /s/ and /z/ without labelling them as limited to any particular dialects or areas

### Anagrams

* Gareys, Gearys, Yagers, gayers, gyrase, re-gays, yagers