ETYM Latin aloë, Greek aloe, aloe: cf. Old Fren. aloe, French aloès.
Succulent plants having rosettes of leaves usually with hemp-like fiber and spikes of showy flowers; chiefly Africa.
Plant of the genus Aloe of African plants, family Liliaceae, distinguished by their long, fleshy, spiny-edged leaves. The drug usually referred to as “bitter aloes” is a powerful cathartic prepared from the juice of the leaves of several of the species.
Bitter fruit of several plants used in preparation of purgative; pl. such purgative.