ἄμωμον

Forms

ᾰ̓́μωμον (ámōmon) n (genitive ἀμώμου); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a loanword from an Eastern language that cannot be identified.^[2][3][4] Beekes places its source in India and compares κιννάμωμον (kinnámōmon, “cinnamon”).^[5][2] Wiktionary regards it as a word of lost provenance that is also found in Classical Syriac, whence Arabic, and as Old Armenian համեմ (hamem).^[1] A direct Semitic source, comparing the Syriac and Mishnaic Hebrew names of the same spice, was proposed by Muss-Arnolt, Lewy and M. Masson, but Rosół rejects it.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DGE cites a fragment of Archilochus for the plant.^[4] In the Hippocratic Nature of Women it is the aromatic product used as a remedy.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

The name covered the aromatic capsules and seeds of several plants of the ginger family from India and Africa, which reached Europe through Alexander's campaigns.^[8] Theophrastus already distinguishes it from καρδάμωμον (kardámōmon), the true cardamom, a compound of κάρδαμον (kárdamon, “cress”) and this word.^[9][8] Dioscorides describes it as a drug, and the Roman poets knew it as a precious ointment, especially for the hair.^[10][4] In the Revelation it is one of the luxury goods of Babylon, beside cinnamon, incense and myrrh.^[11]

Latin borrowed it as amomum,^[12] and Coptic as ⲁⲙⲱⲙⲟⲛ (amōmon).^[13] The New Pauly notes that the plants stayed in demand as a remedy, in perfumes and in pastry until the 16th century.^[8]

Timeline

• 7th century BC – The DGE cites a fragment of Archilochus for the plant.^[4]
• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic Nature of Women prescribes the aromatic product.^[4][7]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle mentions the spice.^[10][4]
• 4th–3rd century BC – Theophrastus distinguishes it from true cardamom.^[9][10]
• 1st century AD – Dioscorides describes it, and the Book of Revelation lists it among the merchandise of Babylon.^[10][11][7]
• 12th century AD – A Sahidic Coptic manuscript of about 1100 has the borrowed form.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. Amomum, an Indian spice plant, probably black or Nepal cardamom.^[10][5][9]
2. The aromatic product of this plant, an ointment used especially for the hair.^[4][11]

Word family

• ἀμωμίς (amōmís)
• ἀμωμίτης (amōmítēs)

Related words

• καρδάμωμον (kardámōmon)
• κιννάμωμον (kinnámōmon)
• Latin amomum
• English cardamom

Usage notes

Hesychius records that in the lists of names it stands for λιβανωτός (libanōtós, “frankincense”).^[14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
3. ^ Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
5. ^ a b Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ Rosół, Rafał (2013), Frühe semitische Lehnwörter im Griechischen, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang
7. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b c Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b c Rosół, Rafał, ed., Lexicon of Oriental Words in Ancient Greek, https://orientalwordsingreek.org
10. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
11. ^ a b c Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
12. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
13. ^ a b Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
14. ^ Hesychius of Alexandria, Lexicon, ed. Kurt Latte (Α–Ο, Copenhagen 1953–1966) and Moritz Schmidt (Π–Ω, Jena 1858–1868)