balsam Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any seed plant yielding balsam
  2. noun any of various fragrant oleoresins used in medicines and perfumes
  3. noun an ointment containing a fragrant resin

WordNet

Bal"sam noun
Etymology
L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. . See Balm, n.
Definitions
  1. A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil. ✍ 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? Tennyson.
Bal"sam transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To treat or anoint with balsam; to relieve, as with balsam; to render balsamic.

Webster 1913