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olive branch

/ˌɑləv bræntʃ/
IPA guide

Other forms: olive branches

An olive branch is a good-faith offer to end a disagreement or conflict. If you want to make up with your friend, you may have to be the one to extend an olive branch.

Olive branches have been important symbols since ancient Greece, when they were carried into temples or when approaching powerful individuals. The Roman poet Virgil used the olive branch to represent peace in the Aeneid, and early Christians included it in religious art. Today, it's clear that when you metaphorically extend an olive branch, you're offering a truce: "My brother baked me cookies as an olive branch, but I'm not ready to forgive him for reading my diary."

Definitions of olive branch
  1. noun
    something offered to an adversary in the hope of obtaining peace
    synonyms: peace offering
    see moresee less
    type of:
    offer, offering
    something offered (as a proposal or bid)
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