BALM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Balm

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/bɑm/ /bɑlm/ Listen

noun

Balm n.

(Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa.

The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs.

Any fragrant ointment.

Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. "Balm for each ill."

Balm cricket (Zool.), the European cicada.

Balm of Gilead (Bot.), a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of the terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense). Its leaves yield, when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca. This has a yellowish or greenish color, a warm, bitterish, aromatic taste, and a fragrant smell. It is valued as an unguent and cosmetic by the Turks. The fragrant herb Dracocephalum Canariense is familiarly called balm of Gilead, and so are the American trees, Populus balsamifera, variety candicans (balsam poplar), and Abies balsamea (balsam fir).

verb

Balm v. t. To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To soothe; to mitigate. (Archaic)

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Etymology of 'Balm'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Balm" Quotes from Famous Books

... the mountain Wouldst thou sleep amidst the snow? Chafe the frozen form beside thee, And together both shall glow. Art thou stricken in life's battle? Many wounded round thee moan; Lavish on their wounds thy balsams, And that balm ...

— The Life of Jesus Christ for the Young • Richard Newton

... hospital speak of their patients as "cases," but I'd rather keep aloof from the hospital plan in my schoolmastering. But, being a member of the band, I suppose that I'll feel it my duty to conform and do my utmost to help prove that our cult has discovered the great and universal panacea, the balm in Gilead. ...

— Reveries of a Schoolmaster • Francis B. Pearson

... with this spring balm in the air," replied her father. "You must make haste. By noon, it will be all ...

— Faith Gartney's Girlhood • Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney

... of the word of life, unless it had been good, and necessary for man; nor water used as the emblem of sanctification, unless it also had been good and necessary for man. You will allow that oil, and honey, and balm are good, when David says, "Let the righteous reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil;" or, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste; yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth;" or, when Jeremiah cries out in his weeping, "Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there?" ...

— Lectures on Architecture and Painting - Delivered at Edinburgh in November 1853 • John Ruskin

... restore the constitution shattered by dissipation, or give back the resources wasted upon vice, or bring back the fleeting opportunities. The wounds can all be healed, for the Good Physician, blessed be His name! has lancets and bandages, and balm and anodynes for the deadliest; but scars remain even when the gash ...

— Sowing and Reaping • Dwight Moody

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