Olive skin?

Question

This may sound like a dumb question but i really don't understand the olive colored skin description. Isn't olive a more greenish or yellow color. How did people start describing themselves as olive colored complected?

Answer 1

Olives are only green when they're harvested under-ripened...

If they remain on the tree until they're fully ripe, first they turn brown, then black!

Also, the Mediterranean is the "Olive-Belt", so perhaps that's the real connection in comparisons...

Answer 2

oh i totally know whatcha mean !

theres black olives ..... but still . when i picture an olive i picture a green thing with a pink-ishh centerr (:

Answer 3

I never really thought about how strange of a description "olive" is for a skintone.  You're right.  But if you're looking for a visual, people of descent from countries bordering the Mediterranean tend to have the skintone that is categorized as "olive."  Hope that helped.

Answer 4

i always thought it was odd too - also, referring to asian skin as yellow.  i guess there are shades of these colors in skin and it has been exagerated (a lot).

Answer 5

Olive skin is normally yellow-tinted instead of pink,darker than normal fair skin but not extremely swarthy, and tends to go light brown in the sun rather than burn.

Answer 6

It is a good question.  Olive drab, an Army uniform color is green.  I always understood that when talking about skin, it meant like Mediterranean but I don't know why it doesn't mean Vulcan.

Answer 7

By word meaning it is a sort of skin/material/plant/idea etc . are strong enough to withstand pressure/defensive inorder to protect its dependance. for example there is a common saying he/she caught the olive branch. olive is also simpale of peace.