huile

oil (liquid fat); big gun, big cheese (person of consequence)

Inherited from Middle French huyle, from Old French oile, from Latin oleum, from olea (“olive”), from Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía, “olive”). The h was added in Middle French to indicate that the u was a vowel, as in typography u and v were used interchangeably at the time. Compare huit (“eight”).