embalm

/ɪmˈbɑːm/

Etymology

From Middle English enbawmen, from Middle French embaumer, from Old French embasmer. See balm.

Why this word is great

EMBALM — [Verb] To treat a corpse with preservatives to prevent decomposition; to preserve or perfume something. From Middle English enbawmen, from Middle French embaumer, from Old French embasmer, ultimately related to balm (aromatic resin used for preservation). Unlike "mummify" (bound to linen and ritual) or "perfume" (merely masking the air), to embalm is to wage a quiet war against time itself. It is the mortician’s careful injection, the rose petals pressed between the pages of a forgotten book, the way a childhood home lingers in memory—unchanged, impossibly sweet, even as the walls crumble. A futile, fragrant defiance of the inevitable.

verb

  1. To treat a corpse with preservatives in order to prevent decomposition.“And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father.”
  2. To preserve.“There are districts of Canada mainly settled from Paisley and neighbourhood, the hivings off at such seasons as we have referred to, with whose settlement he had not a little to do, and where his memory is embalmed.”
  3. To perfume or add fragrance to something.