Balm \Balm\ (b[aum]m), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F.
baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ba`lsamon; perhaps of
Semitic origin; cf. Heb. b[=a]s[=a]m. Cf. Balsam.]
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1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa.
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2. The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or
shrubs. --Dryden.
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3. Any fragrant ointment. --Shak.
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4. Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. "Balm for each
ill." --Mrs. Hemans.
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Balm cricket (Zool.), 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).
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Balsam \Bal"sam\ (b[add]l"sam), n. [L. balsamum the balsam tree
or its resin, Gr. ba`lsamon. See Balm, n.]
1. A resin containing more or less of an essential or
volatile oil.
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Note: The balsams are aromatic resinous substances, flowing
spontaneously or by incision from certain plants. A
great variety of substances pass under this name, but
the term is now usually restricted to resins which, in
addition to a volatile oil, contain benzoic and
cinnamic acid. Among the true balsams are the balm of
Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu.
There are also many pharmaceutical preparations and
resinous substances, possessed of a balsamic smell, to
which the name balsam has been given.
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2. (Bot.)
(a) A species of tree (Abies balsamea).
(b) An annual garden plant (Impatiens balsamina) with
beautiful flowers; balsamine.
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3. Anything that heals, soothes, or restores.
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Was not the people's blessing a balsam to thy blood?
--Tennyson.
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Balsam apple (Bot.), an East Indian plant (Momordica
balsamina), of the gourd family, with red or
orange-yellow cucumber-shaped fruit of the size of a
walnut, used as a vulnerary, and in liniments and
poultices.
Balsam fir (Bot.), the American coniferous tree, Abies
balsamea, from which the useful Canada balsam is derived.
Balsam of copaiba. See Copaiba.
Balsam of Mecca, balm of Gilead.
Balsam of Peru, a reddish brown, syrupy balsam, obtained
from a Central American tree (Myroxylon Pereir[ae] and
used as a stomachic and expectorant, and in the treatment
of ulcers, etc. It was long supposed to be a product of
Peru.
Balsam of Tolu, a reddish or yellowish brown semisolid or
solid balsam, obtained from a South American tree
(Myroxylon toluiferum). It is highly fragrant, and is
used as a stomachic and expectorant.
Balsam tree, any tree from which balsam is obtained, esp.
the Abies balsamea.
Canada balsam, Balsam of fir, Canada turpentine, a
yellowish, viscid liquid, which, by time and exposure,
becomes a transparent solid mass. It is obtained from the
balm of Gilead (or balsam) fir (Abies balsamea) by
breaking the vesicles upon the trunk and branches. See
Balm.
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