Etymologies

Extract

The adjective Οὖλος is used very frequently by Theophrastus in his History of Plants. The English word 'curly’ may be accepted as its equivalent in phrases like ‘curly leaves’ or ‘curly roots’; but there is something not quite so natural in an expression like ‘curly wood,’ as when Theophrastus says (H.P. III. 11. 3) that the ξνуα (which is a variety of maple-tree) ἒϰει τὐ ξύλον ξανθὐν καἰ οὖλον, ‘has yellow and curly wood.’ Sir Arthur Hort has accordingly translated it in many passages by the word ‘close-grained,’ and this not only gives a permissible sense in a large number of passages, but seems to be the only one which yields a good sense in III. 11. 3, where Theophrastus says ‘there are two kinds of ash. Of these one is lofty and of strong growth, with white wood of good fibre, softer, with fewer knots, and of more compact texture (τ ξύλον ἒϰουσα οὐλότερον).’ Schneider, who recognized only the sense ‘curly,’ felt the absurdity of saying ‘with fewer knots and curlier, and he therefore proposed to substitute νουλότερον (comparative of ἂνουλος, a word which does not occur anywhere in Greek literature). The difficulty vanishes if Sir Arthur Hort's rendering is accepted.