ἀλόη <Unspecified origin; Roman period>
👉 ἀλόη f. – ‘aloe’, esp. ‘bitter aloe (Aloe vera (L.) Baum.)’ and ‘aloe extract (used in medicine or as an ingredient for embalming)’ (Sextus Niger ap. Dsc. 1, praef. 3; Dsc. 3.22.1; NT: Joann. 19.39; Plut., Mor. 141f; etc.). Cf. Latin aloē, -ēs f. ‘id.’ (from Greek).
⚠ Dsc. 3.22.2: γίνεται δὲ ἐν τῇ ᾿Ινδίᾳ πλείστη, ἐξ ἧς καὶ τὸ ὄπισμα κομίζεται· φύεται δὲ καὶ ἐν ᾿Αραβίᾳ καὶ ᾿Ασίᾳ καί τισι παραθαλασσίοις τόποις καὶ νήσοις ὡς ἐν ῎Ανδρῳ, οὐκ εὔχρηστος εἰς ὀπισμόν, πρὸς δὲ κόλλησιν τραυμάτων ἐπιτήδειος λεία καταπλασσομένη. – “A great deal (scil. of aloe) grows in India from where its extracted juice is exported; but it also grows in Arabia, in Asia, along certain coastal areas, and on islands, as for instance on Andros, being not good for extracting juice but suitable for gluing together wounds when plastered on them.” (trans. L.Y. Beck); Plin., NH 27.14: laudatissima (scil. aloe) ex India adfertur, sed nascitur et in Asia, non tamen ea utuntur nisi ad volnera (...)”. – “The most valued kind (scil. of aloe) is imported from India, but it also grows in the province of Asia. This kind is used only for wounds (...)” (trans. W.H.S. Jones); Ps.-Gal. 19.724 and 733, uses the expression ἀλόη ᾿Ινδικὴ ‘Indian aloe’; in the former passage, the author writes: ἀντὶ ἀλόης ᾿Ινδικῆς, ἀλόης χλωρᾶς φύλλα (...) – “Instead of Indian aloes (apply) leaves of green aloes (...)”. Cf. Sextus Niger ap. Dsc. 1, praef. 3: Νίγερ (...) φησιν (...) ἀλόην δὲ ὀρυκτὴν ἐν ᾿Ιουδαίᾳ γεννᾶσθαι – “Niger (...) supposes (...) that aloe is mined in Judea” (trans. L.Y. Beck); Dioscorides himself criticises that view; cf. Isid., Etym. 17.8.9: Aloa in India atque Arabia gignitur (...) – “The aloa grows in India and Arabia (...)” (trans. A.S. Barney et al.).
🅔 An Oriental word – there are some similar words for ‘aloe’ attested in modern languages of India, Pakistan and Nepal, e.g., Hindi elūā, eluwā, elwā ‘aloe’, Punjabi elūā, elwā ‘bitter aloe (Aloe vera (L.) Baum.; not: Aloe perfoliata L.)’. Less likely is a connection of ἀλόη with Oriental words for ‘agarwood tree (Aquilaria malaccensis Lam.)’ and ‘agarwood’ (called also aloeswood) with its aromatic resin (called agar or aloes); indeed, the usage of that resin and of aloe extract is comparable, and some Oriental names for ‘agarwood’ are similar to Greek ἀλόη (see ἀγάλοχον and ἀλωθ), but we are dealing here with completely different plants.
📖 Data: CDIAL: 121; DUCHE: 115; PD: 344. Ref.: cf. EDG: 73; Lewy 1895: 36; Nielsen 1986: 66.