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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

balm

Audio Help [bahm] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	any of various oily, fragrant, resinous substances, often of medicinal value, exuding from certain plants, esp. tropical trees of the genus Commiphora.

2.	a plant or tree yielding such a substance.

3.	any aromatic or fragrant ointment.

4.	aromatic fragrance; sweet odor: the balm of orange blossoms.

5.	any of various aromatic plants of the mint family, esp. those of the genus Melissa, as M. officinalis (lemon balm), having ovate lemon-scented leaves used as a seasoning.

6.	anything that heals, soothes, or mitigates pain: the balm of friendship in troubled times.

[Origin: 1175–1225; ME basme, ba(u)me < AF basme, bal(s)me, ba(u)me; OF < L balsamum balsam; with orthographic l pedantically restored

]

—Related forms

balmlike, adjective

—Synonyms 3. salve, unguent, lotion, emollient.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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balm

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

balm Audio Help (bäm) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A chiefly Mediterranean perennial herb (Melissa officinalis) in the mint family, grown for its lemon-scented foliage, which is used as a seasoning or for tea. Also called lemon balm.
2. Any of several related plants in the mint family, such as the bee balm and the horse balm.
Any of various aromatic resins exuded from several trees and shrubs, especially the balm of Gilead (Commiphora) and related plants.
An aromatic salve or oil.
A pleasing aromatic fragrance.
A soothing, healing, or comforting agent or quality.

[Middle English baume, balsam, from Old French basme, from Latin balsamum; see balsam.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
balm

c.1220, basme, from O.Fr. basme, from L. balsamum, from Gk. balsamon "balsam," from Heb. basam "spice," related to Aram. busma, Ar. basham "balsam, spice, perfume." Spelling refashioned 15c.-16c. on L. model. Sense of "healing or soothing influence" (1549) is from aromatic preparations from balsam (see balsam). Biblical Balm of Gilead, however, began with Coverdale; the Heb. word there is tsori, which was rendered in Septuagint and Vulgate as "resin" (Gk. hretine, L. resina). Balmy "fragrant, mild" (of weather) is first attested 1704; meaning "weak-minded" is from 1851 London slang.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

balm
noun
1.	any of various aromatic resinous substances used for healing and soothing
2.	semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation [syn: ointment]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
balm [baːm] noun

something that soothes
Example: The music was balm to my ears.

Arabic:	بَلْسَم،
Chinese (Simplified):	安慰物
Chinese (Traditional):	安慰物
Czech:	balzám
Danish:	balsam
Dutch:	balsem
Estonian:	palsam
Finnish:	palsami, lohtu
French:	baume
German:	der Balsam
Greek:	βάλσαμο
Hungarian:	balzsam, gyógyír
Icelandic:	harmabót, allt sem mÿkir og græðir
Indonesian:	menenangkan, menyejukkan
Italian:	balsamo

Japanese:	慰め
Korean:	위안(물)
Latvian:	mierinājums; remdinājums
Lithuanian:	balzamas
Norwegian:	balsam
Polish:	balsam
Portuguese (Brazil):	bálsamo, lenitivo
Portuguese (Portugal):	bálsamo
Romanian:	balsam
Russian:	утешение, бальзам
Slovak:	balzam
Slovenian:	balzam
Spanish:	bálsamo
Swedish:	balsam, lindring
Turkish:	teselli, derde deva

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

BALM
Block And List Manipulation. Harrison, 1970. Extensible language with LISP-like features and ALGOL-like syntax, for CDC 6600. "The Balm Programming Language", Malcolm Harrison, Courant Inst (May 1973).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Balm

Balm\, n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ?; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. b[=a]s[=a]m. Cf. Balsam.]

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

2. The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs. --Dryden.

3. Any fragrant ointment. --Shak.

4. Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. "Balm for each ill." --Mrs. Hemans.

Balm cricket (Zo["o]l.), the European cicada. --Tennyson.

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).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Balm

Balm\, v. i. To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To soothe; to mitigate. [Archaic] --Shak.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

BALM

BALM: in Acronym Finder

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