from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
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}.
[1913 Webster]