aroma

Forms

arōma n (genitive arōmatis); third declension^[1] Beside the dative and ablative plural arōmatibus, arōmatīs is found in Columella and Apuleius.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄρωμα (árōma, “seasoning, aromatic plant”).^[2][1][4] The Greek word, attested from Hippocrates, is of unknown origin.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The plural aromata, spices, is found in Celsus,^[7][8] and Columella has it in the first century AD;^[2][7] DynaMorphPro dates the borrowing to the post-classical period.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In the singular it is a spice or aromatic substance, as in the Digest and in Prudentius; in the plural, spices.^[3][7] The jurists speak of dealers in spices,^[10] Jerome of those who know the powers of spices, and the Vulgate of camels carrying spices, resin and stacte (portantes aromata et resinam et stacten).^[10] Köbler adds the senses drug, embalming material and incense, and in Medieval Latin fragrance.^[8] Medieval texts use it for perfume and a sweet smell.^[11][12] English took it in the early 13th century in the sense “fragrant substance, spice”; the meaning “fragrance” dates from 1814.^[6]

Timeline

• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses the plural aromata.^[7][8]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it, with the ablative plural aromatis.^[2][8]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it.^[2][8]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses the plural for spices.^[3][10][8]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville treats the spices.^[7][8]
• 1151–1158 – Hildegard of Bingen uses it in her Physica.^[8]
• early 13th century – English borrows it as aroma, “fragrant substance, spice”.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An aromatic substance, a spice.^[2][3]
2. (plural) Spices; also drugs, embalming materials, incense.^[3][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) Perfume, a sweet smell, fragrance.^[11][8][12]

Word family

• aromatarius
• arōmaticus
• arōmatizō

Related words

• English aroma

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
5. ^ 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. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
9. ^ Gardani, Francesco; Pellegrini, Matteo et al. (2026), DynaMorphPro: loanwords, conversions and class shifts in Latin and Old Italian, CIRCSE / LiLa, github.com/CIRCSE/DynaMorphPro (CC BY-SA 4.0)
10. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson