What is "oliver"

Oliver \Ol"i*ver\, n.

1. [OF. oliviere.] An olive grove. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

2. [F. olivier.] An olive tree. [Obs.]
   --Chaucer.

Oliver \Ol"i*ver\, n. A small tilt hammer, worked by the foot.

masc. personal name, in medieval lore the name of one of Charlemagne's peers, friend of Roland, from French Olivier, from Middle Low German Alfihar, literally "elf-host, elf-army," from alf "elf" (see elf) + hari "host, army" (see harry (v.)). Cognate with Anglo-Saxon name Ælfhere. Form influenced in Old French by olivier "olive tree."

n. (context archaic rare English) A small tilt hammer, worked by the foot.

Oliver (c. 1958 – 2 June 2012) was a former performing ape once promoted as a missing link or " Humanzee" due to his unusually human-like face and a tendency to walk upright. Despite his somewhat unusual appearance and behavior, scientists determined in the 1990s that Oliver was not a human-chimpanzee hybrid. Research strongly suggests that Oliver was a common chimpanzee from the Gabon region.

William Oliver Swofford (February 22, 1945 – February 12, 2000), known professionally as Oliver, was an American pop singer, best known for his 1969 song " Good Morning Starshine" from the musical Hair as well as " Jean" (the theme from the film The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).

Oliver (in Italian: Uliviero or Oliviero), sometimes referred to as Olivier de Vienne or de Gennes, is a fictional knight in the Matter of France chansons de geste, especially the French epic The Song of Roland. In the tradition, he was Roland's closest friend, advisor, and confidant, one of Charlemagne's twelve peers and brother of Aude, Roland's betrothed; and he dies at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass with Roland. Some critics have linked his name to the olive tree, a biblical symbol of divine wisdom.

Oliver is a given name. It is also used as a surname (see Oliver (surname)), in particular of a Scottish sept (see Oliver (Scottish surname)).

It may also refer to:

Many Scottish people with the surname Oliver are descended from the Oliver family that settled in the Border area of Scotland and England by the middle of the 13th century. By the beginning of the 16th century, they had become a kinship group in which all its members bore the same surname of Oliver.

Oliver (first name and dates unknown) was an English cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1824 to 1828. He was mainly associated with Godalming Cricket Club and Surrey and made 4 known appearances in first-class matches.

Oliver is a surname derived from the Old French personal name Olivier. The Oliver surname seems to be French Norman in origin. The Scottish Oliver family was a sept of the Scotland Highlands' powerful Clan Fraser of Lovat.

Oliver is an English speaking Vocaloid by PowerFX who was released for Vocaloid 3. He was the first English Vocaloid to gain a large amount of popularity, owed mostly to his usage in the show Bee and Puppycat as featured on the Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel.

"Oliver" was the Norwegian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1979, performed in Norwegian by Anita Skorgan. This was Skorgan's second participation in the Contest; in 1977 she had placed 14th out of 18 entries with " Casanova". It is the first Norwegian entry where the artist performed his or her own composition.

The song is a moderately up-tempo number, with Skorgan addressing a former lover (with whom she sings she broke up four weeks ago) who she sees in a disco. She tells him that if she happens to walk past him, she will ask him for a dance, because she believes that he misses her and she is prepared to give him another chance. English ("Oliver"), German ("(Tanz mit mir) Oliver"), French ("Il faut danser") and Swedish ("Oliver") versions of the song were also released after the Contest.

The song was performed sixteenth on the night, following Sweden's Ted Gärdestad with " Satellit" and preceding the United Kingdom's Black Lace with " Mary Ann". At the close of voting, it had received 57 points, placing 11th in a field of 19.

It was succeeded as Norwegian representative at the 1980 contest by Sverre Kjelsberg & Mattis Hætta with " Sámiid Ædnan". Anita Skorgan returned to the Contest in 1982 with her then husband Jahn Teigen with the duet " Adieu".

Oliver is a masculine given name of Old French origin; Oliver is one of Charlemagne's retainers in the 11th-century Song of Roland.

The name was generally associated with the Latin term/name olivarius " olive tree planter", but may have been connected with the Germanic names *wulfa- "wolf" and *χarja- "army", or the Old Norse'' Óleifr'' ( Ólaf); or a genuinely West Germanic name, perhaps from ala- "all" and wēra "true", or from alf " elf" and hari "army, warrior" (in both cases possibly cognate with Álvaro).

Modern variants include French Olivier, Hungarian Olivér, Irish Oilivéar, Scottish Gaelic Oilvreis, Italian Oliviero, Spanish Oliverio.

The name was introduced to England by the Normans. It was commonly used in medieval England, but became rare after the Restoration, because of the unpopularity of Oliver Cromwell. The name was revived in the 19th century, possibly inspired by the title character of Dickens' Oliver Twist (1838). Pet forms of the English given name include Ollie and Noll.

In 2013 it was the fifth most popular name for boys in Australia.