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View synonyms for embalm

embalm

[ em-bahm ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to treat (a dead body) so as to preserve it, as with chemicals, drugs, or balsams.
  2. to preserve from oblivion; keep in memory:

    his deeds embalmed in the hearts of his disciples.

  3. to cause to remain unchanged; prevent the development of.
  4. to impart a balmy fragrance to.


embalm

/ ɪmˈbɑːm /

verb

  1. to treat (a dead body) with preservatives, as by injecting formaldehyde into the blood vessels, to retard putrefaction
  2. to preserve or cherish the memory of
  3. poetic.
    to give a sweet fragrance to


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Derived Forms

  • emˈbalmment, noun
  • emˈbalmer, noun

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Other Words From

  • em·balmer noun
  • em·balmment noun
  • unem·balmed adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of embalm1

1300–50; Middle English embalmen, embaumen < Old French emba ( u ) smer, equivalent to em- em- 1 + -ba ( u ) smer, verbal derivative of ba ( u ) sme balm

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Word History and Origins

Origin of embalm1

C13: from Old French embaumer; see balm

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Example Sentences

By virtue of the enigmatic visual flair, the ancient Egyptian god was represented as a jackal-headed entity associated with the rites of embalming the deceased and the related afterlife.

Deaths from myeloid leukemia among funeral industry workers have been linked to long-term exposure to formaldehyde from embalming.

From Time

Her body was embalmed and wrapped in linen strips that had been soaked in oil and a mix of nettles, myrrh, thyme, and aloe.

From Time

As an embalmed body decomposes, those metals, including arsenic, mix with cemetery leachate and percolate deep into the soil.

Green burials do not use concrete vaults, embalm bodies or use pesticides or fertilizers at gravesites.

If a man was wealthy, it cost his family as much as one thousand dollars to embalm his body suitably to his rank.

Even natron and oils were left, so that it might re-embalm itself, if the worms came to life in its members.

Two days later he gave Nebenchari permission to embalm Nitetis' body in the Egyptian manner, according to her last wish.

God knows how I embalm every such day,—I do not believe that one of the forty is confounded with another in my memory.

The whole mountain which dominates Terracina, is covered with orange and lemon trees, which embalm the air in a delicious manner.

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