balsam
UK /ˈbɔːl.səm/ · US /ˈbɔl.səm/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms balsams balsaming balsamed balsem balsum balsome
- noun (chiefly UK) A sweet-smelling oil or resin derived from various plants.
- noun (chiefly UK) A plant or tree yielding such substance.
- noun (chiefly UK) A soothing ointment.
- noun (chiefly UK, figuratively) Something soothing. “Classical music is a sweet balsam for our sorrows”
- noun A flowering plant of the genus Impatiens.
- noun Any member of the balsam family of flowering plants (Balsaminaceae), which includes genera Impatiens and Hydrocera.
- noun A balsam fir (Abies balsamea).
- noun Canada balsam, a turpentine obtained from the resin of balsam fir.
- verb (transitive) To treat or anoint with balsam.
- proper noun A surname from German.
Synonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin balsamum, from Ancient Greek βάλσαμον (bálsamon, “balsam”), of Semitic origin (Hebrew בושם (“spice, perfume”)); compare Old English balsam, balsamum (“balsam, balm”), Doublet of balm and desman. Not related to balsa.
Borrowed from German Balsam, an occupational surname for a seller of perfumes. It could also be an English habitational surname, from Balsham, in Cambridgeshire.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil.
- noun (a) A species of tree (Abies balsamea).
- verb To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with balsam; to render balsamic.
Etymology [L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. . See Balm, n.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “balsam”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details