Category:Balm

Balm, n. Etym: [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. basam. Cf. Balsam.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: 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 (Zoöl.), 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).

Balm, v. i.

Defn: To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To soothe; to mitigate. [Archaic] Shak.

---excerpt from the Illustrated Bible Dictionary

Balm - Contracted from Balsam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark. (1.) This word occurs in the Authorized Version (Genesis 37:25; Genesis 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11; Jeremiah 51:8; Ezekiel 27:17) as the rendering of the Hebrew word tsori or tseri, which denotes the gum of a tree growing in Gilead (q.v.), which is very precious. It was celebrated for its medicinal qualities, and was circulated as an article of merchandise by Arab and Phoenician merchants. The shrub so named was highly valued, and was almost peculiar to Palestine. In the time of Josephus it was cultivated in the neighbourhood of Jericho and the Dead Sea. There is an Arab tradition that the tree yielding this balm was brought by the queen of Sheba as a present to Solomon, and that he planted it in his gardens at Jericho. (2.) There is another Hebrew word, basam or bosem, from which our word "balsam," as well as the corresponding Greek balsamon, is derived. It is rendered "spice" (Song of Songs 5:1, Song of Songs 5:13; Song of Songs 6:2; margin of Revised Version, "balsam;" Exodus 35:28; 1 Kings 10:10), and denotes fragrance in general. Basam also denotes the true balsam-plant, a native of South Arabia (Cant. l.c.).