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more about aloes
aloes |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Aloe \Al"oe\ ([a^]l"n[-o]), n.; pl {Aloes} (-[=o]z). [L. alo["e], Gr 'alo`h, aloe: cf OF aloe, F. alo[`e]s.] 1. pl The wood of the agalloch. [Obs.] --Wyclif. 2. (Bot.) A genus of succulent plants, some classed as trees, others as shrubs, but the greater number having the habit and appearance of evergreen herbaceous plants; from some of which are prepared articles for medicine and the arts. They are natives of warm countries. 3. pl (Med.) The inspissated juice of several species of aloe, used as a purgative. [Plural in form but syntactically singular.] {American aloe}, {Century aloe}, the agave. See {Agave}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: aloes n : a purgative made from the leaves of aloe [syn: {bitter aloes}] From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Aloes (Heb. 'ahalim), a fragrant wood (Num. 24:6; Ps 45:8; Prov. 7:17; Cant. 4:14), the Aquilaria agallochum of botanists, or as some suppose, the costly gum or perfume extracted from the wood. It is found in China, Siam, and Northern India, and grows to the height sometimes of 120 feet. This species is of great rarity even in India. There is another and more common species, called by Indians aghil whence Europeans have given it the name of Lignum aquile, or eagle-wood. Aloewood was used by the Egyptians for embalming dead bodies. Nicodemus brought it (pounded aloe-wood) to embalm the body of Christ (John 19:39); but whether this was the same as that mentioned elsewhere is uncertain. The bitter aloes of the apothecary is the dried juice of the leaves Aloe vulgaris.
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