See Also: Balsam(medicine)
balsam(encyclopedia)
balsam(2)(dictionary)
balsam(1)(dictionary)
balsam(dictionary)
balsam of copaiba(medicine)
balsam, Canada(medicine)
Tolu balsam(medicine)
Mecca balsam(medicine)
balsam poplar(encyclopedia)

balsam(1) (iou)



balsam noun. OE.
[from Latin balsamum from Greek balsamon, perh. of Semitic origin (cf. Arab. balasan).]
A resinous exudation from various trees, esp. = BALM noun1 1. OE.
Canada balsam: see CANADA 1.
b. spec. Chemistry. A resinous product which is insoluble in water and is a source of benzoic or cinnamic acid. L17.
A tree yielding balsam; = BALM noun1 5. OE.
An aromatic ointment or other resinous medicinal preparation; esp. one of various substances dissolved in oil or turpentine. L16.
FRIAR's balsam. TOLU balsam.
b. fig. A healing or soothing agency. E17.
Tennyson Was not the people's blessing..a balsam to thy blood?
Alchemy. A healthful preservative essence considered by Paracelsus to exist in all organic bodies. M17-M18.
= BALM noun1 2; fig. a preservative. M17-M18.
Any plant of the genus Impatiens (see IMPATIENS), esp. (a) (more fully garden balsam) Impatiens balsamina, native to southern and eastern Asia and cultivated for its showy pink flowers; (b) (in full Himalaya balsam) I. glandulifera, a large Himalayan plant with purplish-pink flowers now widely naturalized along streams in Europe and N. America (also called policeman's helmet). M18.
Comb.: balsam apple (the fruit of) the tropical gourd Momordica balsamina; balsam fir a common N. American fir, Abies balsamea, yielding Canada balsam; balsam pear (the pear-shaped fruit of) the tropical gourd Momordica charantia; balsam poplar any of several N. American poplars, esp. Populus balsamifera, whose buds exude a fragrant gum.
balsa'miferous adjective yielding balsam L17.
balsamine noun (a) = balsam-apple above; (b) = garden balsam (sense 6 above): L16-M19.
balsamy adjective like balsam in fragrance, balmy L17.