balm
/bɑm/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.25 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
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.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Classical music is a sweet balm for our sorrows."
- "BEAT on, proud billows; Boreas blow; / Swell, curled waves, high as Jove's roof; / Your incivility doth ſhow, / That innocence is tempeſt proof; / Though ſurly Nereus frown, my thoughts are calm; / Then ſtrike, Affliction, for thy wounds are balm. [Attributed to Roger L'Estrange (1616–1704).]"
- "For Silas House, a novelist who grew up in a congregation in eastern Kentucky about 90 minutes from Ms. Parton’s hometown, the small rural church of his childhood was a paradoxical institution. Its members taught him the “radical empathy” of Jesus, he said. But he also knew from a young age that if they knew he was gay, that empathy could be withdrawn. Ms. Parton’s public persona as someone who consistently embraced gay people and was also “quite Jesus-y” was a balm to him in later years when he didn’t feel comfortable attending church. “For a lot of people including myself, Dolly became what we wanted out of Christianity,” Mr. House said. “She was one of the people who allowed me to come out, and one of the people who allowed me to retain my faith.”"
- "Shrouded in cloth of state, balmed and entreasured / With full bags of spices!"
- "This rest might yet have balmed thy broken sinews"
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɑm/
- British English: /bɑːm/