What does aloeswood mean?
Aloeswood is the highly aromatic, resinous heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees native to Southeast Asia. The precious material forms only when the tree becomes infected with a particular mold, prompting it to produce a dark, fragrant resin that saturates the wood. This infected timber has been treasured for centuries across the Middle East and Asia, where it is burned as incense in religious ceremonies and distilled into one of the world's most expensive perfume oils. Although the word itself is now somewhat literary, the substance remains famous under its alternative names agarwood and oud, both staples of luxury perfumery. Aloeswood appears most often in writing about trade history, fragrance, and ritual, evoking rarity, opulence, and antiquity. Because genuine resin-bearing wood is scarce, top-grade material commands extraordinary prices, sometimes exceeding those of gold by weight.
nounThe fragrant, resinous heartwood of certain Aquilaria trees of Southeast Asia, formed when the tree becomes infected with mold; it is prized as incense and in perfumery, where it is more commonly known as agarwood or oud.
- The dark, resinous, aromatic heartwood produced by Aquilaria trees in response to fungal infection, burned as incense and distilled for perfume oil.
"The temple air was thick with the sweet smoke of burning aloeswood."
"Merchants once crossed the Indian Ocean carrying sandalwood and aloeswood to sell in Arabian markets."
"She lit a single chip of aloeswood, and its deep, smoky sweetness filled the room."
Rarely used; the plural appears mainly when referring to distinct pieces or varieties of the wood rather than the substance in general.
"The shop displayed aloeswoods from Assam, Borneo, and Vietnam side by side."
Aloeswood only forms when an Aquilaria tree gets infected by mold — and the resulting wounded wood can be worth more per ounce than gold.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of aloeswood
Aloeswood combines the word 'aloe' — which entered English via Latin and Greek (aloē), ultimately borrowed from an Indic source — with 'wood'. Despite the name, it does not come from true aloe plants; the term arose because the fragrant wood was historically associated with the aloe of ancient commerce. It is closely related to the terms agarwood and agalloch, which describe the same resinous Aquilaria timber.
How aloeswood is actually used
Aloeswood is a somewhat literary or traditional term; in modern perfumery and trade contexts the words agarwood and oud are far more common. The word is almost always used as an uncountable mass noun referring to the wood itself, though it occasionally appears in plural form when referring to individual pieces or chips.
Easily confused with aloeswood
An aloe is a succulent plant (or its bitter medicinal sap), whereas aloeswood is the resin-saturated aromatic wood of Aquilaria trees used as incense.