oil spotn.
/ˈɔɪl spɒt/, U.S. /ˈɔɪl ˌspɑt/ 1.
a. A patch or slick of oil; a stain, mark, or transparent patch caused by oil.
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1775 tr. Valuable Secrets Arts & Trades 299 Against oil spots on satin.
1851 Encycl. Americana XII. 124/1 The Venetian talc..seems to be no longer in use, except for the purpose of removing oil-spots from woollen clothes.
1875 A. B. Prescott Outl. Proximate Org. Anal. 68 Non-volatile fat acids. Characterized by an oily consistence, leaving a permanent oil-spot upon paper.
1910 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 37 303 In the herbarium the dried specimens leave large oil spots on the paper.
1917 F. H. Simonds Hist. World War I. 335 The place where the ship sank was marked by a large oil-spot and a few smashed boats.
1983 Washington Post (Nexis) 11 May (Maryland Weekly section) 1 The suit has a few oil spots on it.
2003 Los Angeles Times (Nexis) 10 July v. 34 Someone can get out of their car, slip on an oil spot and sue.
b. A mark on glass caused by carbonization of oil.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [noun] > glass > marks or imperfections in
thread1593
streak1807
seed1821
stripe1823
bull's-eye1832
stria1832
tear1832
bullion1834
wreath1839
sand-hole1867
bullion-point1881
pontil mark1923
oil spot1962
saliva1969
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > spotted condition > spot > of carbonized oil on glass
oil spot1962
1962 Gloss. Terms Glass Industry (B.S.I.) 40 Oil spot, a mottled, circular mark caused by carbonization of oil on electric lamp bulb or valve forming equipment.
2. A silvery marking on Chinese porcelain (esp. of the Song period) caused by the precipitation of iron in firing. Chiefly attributive.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [noun] > porcelain > Chinese > markings on
sacred axe1866
reign mark1904
lappet1915
oil spot1922
1922 A. L. Hetherington Early Ceramic Wares China xviii. 124 The markings may assume quite a different appearance and silvery spots or ‘oil spots’ may take the place of the golden-brown streaks... A specimen with a Northern grey body and ‘oil spot’ glaze is shown in colour on Plate 38.
1934 Burlington Mag. May 214/2 A black glaze diapered with silvery spots..the much-prized ‘oil-spot temmoku’.
1960 H. Hayward Connoisseur's Handbk. Antique Collecting 203/1 ‘Oilspot’ glaze: some of the Chinese wares bearing so-called Honan brown and black glazes of the Sung dynasty bear attractive silver spots, caused by precipitated iron crystals.
1998 Ceramic Rev. Mar. 12/2 (caption) Tenmoku Henan jar—in the shape of a truncated lotus-bud with silvery oil spots.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1775