The word ἄρωμα is etymologized on account of the religious use of aromats, which were used for sacrifice (functional etymology). This is an elliptic etymology: the etymon given by Apollonius is ἀρά "prayer", which here is not explicit: only a translation εὐχή "prayer" is given (see ἀρητήρ / ἀρά). From the contracted denominative verb ἀράομαι, ἀρῶμαι, it was very easy to derive ἄρωμα which is almost homophonous with the first singular of the present stem. If ἄρωμα was suggested by ἀρῶμαι, this is one of the many etymologies starting from an inflected form and incorporating an ending: here the ending -μαι accounts for the suffix -μα. The Epimerismi homerici (see Parallels) give a different derivation pattern and start from a non attested *ἄραμα "prayer" from which ἄρωμα would be derived through an alternation α ~ ω illustrated by other examples (the examples listed are incorrect from the modern point of view, but this alternation does exist in Greek, e.g. -φάσις / φωνή, βάσις / βωμός)