balm means any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America. It carries an Arena rating of 1906, earned across 28 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, balm ranks #314 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #528 of 17,130 for Most Beautiful Words, #928 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #1,498 of 17,127 for Most Vivid Words.
balm is pronounced /bɑːm/.
Why “balm” is a great word
An aromatic resin exuded from certain trees, used historically as a healing ointment or for embalming, or any soothing agent. From Middle English bawme, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French baume, from Old French basme, from Latin balsamum ("balsam, aromatic resin"), from Ancient Greek βάλσαμον (bálsamon); the spelling was modified in the 16th century to conform to the Latin. Unlike "ointment," which suggests a clinical, semi-solid preparation for a specific ailment, or "salve," which denotes a protective remedy for wounds, balm carries the weight of fragrance and ancient ritual—the resinous breath of desert trees, the preservation of kings, the quieting of grief. It is the amber sap sealing a split branch, the scented unguent rubbed onto a fevered temple, and the final dignity offered to the dead before the tomb is sealed—a fragile testament to the human belief that what smells of earth and heaven might somehow heal what ails us.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English bawme, borrowed from Anglo-Norman and Middle French baume, from Old French basme, from Latin balsamum, itself from Ancient Greek βάλσαμον (bálsamon). Spelling modified 16th c. to conform to Latin etymology. Doublet of balsam and desman.
noun
- Any of various aromatic resins exuded from certain plants, especially trees of the genus Commiphora of Africa, Arabia and India and Myroxylon of South America.
- An aromatic preparation for embalming the dead.
- A plant or tree yielding such substance.
- Any soothing oil or lotion, especially an aromatic one.
- Something soothing.e.g.“Classical music is a sweet balm for our sorrows.”
- The lemon balm, Melissa officinalis.
- Any of a number of other aromatic herbs with a similar citrus-like scent, such as bee balm and horsebalm.
verb
- To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal.e.g.“Shrouded in cloth of state, balmed and entreasured / With full bags of spices!” — c. 1607–1608, William Shakespeare, George] [Wilkins, Pericles, Prince of Tyre, act 3, scene 2, lines 63–64:
- To soothe; to mitigate.e.g.“This rest might yet have balmed thy broken sinews” — c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 3, scene 6, line 96:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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