A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil. 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.
2.
(Bot.)
(a)
A species of tree (Abies balsamea).
(b)
An annual garden plant (Impatiens balsamina) with beautiful flowers; balsamine.
3.
Anything that heals, soothes, or restores. "Was not the people's blessing a balsam to thy blood?"
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 Peru, a reddish brown, syrupy balsam, obtained from a Central American tree (Myroxylon Pereirae 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.
verb
Balsam v. t. To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with balsam; to render balsamic.
... save cordage to put to the chain, I did fall from the shipside into the ship (Kent), and had like to have broke my left hand, but I only sprained some of my fingers, which, when I came ashore I sent to Mrs. Ackworth for some balsam, and put to my hand, and was pretty well within a little while after. We dined at the White Hart with several officers with us, and after dinner went and saw the Royal James brought down to the stern of the Docke ... — Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete • Samuel Pepys Read full book for free!
... their purposes. From the beginning in the land of my birth it had been a thing as familiar as the dial and as necessary. The farms along our road were only stumpy recesses in the wilderness, with irregular curving outlines of thick timber—beech and birch and maple and balsam and spruce and pine and tamarack—forever whispering of the unconquered lands that rolled in great billowy ridges to the ... — The Light in the Clearing • Irving Bacheller Read full book for free!
... "Never" which might have proclaimed my ignorance of the very existence of that demi-god of charlatanry, who, for the benefit of suffering mankind, had condescended to compel his genius into the shape of a "revivifying balsam." ... — Miriam Monfort - A Novel • Catherine A. Warfield Read full book for free!
... waited so long, surely we would by this time have come back the second time." So their father said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the fruits of the land in your jars and carry a present to the man, a little balsam, a little syrup, spices, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Take twice as much money with you, carrying back the money that was put in your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. Take also your brother ... — The Children's Bible • Henry A. Sherman Read full book for free!
... observant eye intent upon the outcome of the contest; upon the wreck that is past hope, and upon the youth pausing on the verge of the pit in which the other has long ceased to struggle. Sights and sounds of Christmas there are in plenty in the Bowery. Balsam and hemlock and fir stand in groves along the busy thoroughfare, and garlands of green embower mission and dive impartially. Once a year the old street recalls its youth with an effort. It is true that it is largely a commercial effort; that the evergreen, with an instinct ... — Children of the Tenements • Jacob A. Riis Read full book for free!