Balm

How to spell balm

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce balm

What does balm mean?

1. nounA fragrant, soothing ointment or preparation used to heal or comfort the skin, or anything that brings relief.

Balm in a sentence

• She rubbed a little lip balm on her chapped lips before the flight.

• The cool balm eased the sting of his sunburn within minutes.

Where does balm come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Balm reaches English through Old French basme or baume, which came from the Latin balsamum, a word for the fragrant resin tapped from the balsam tree. The Latin itself was borrowed from the Greek balsamon, the name of that same aromatic gum, and the Greek term may ultimately trace back to a Semitic source for the spice. In Middle English the word was often written without any l, as basme or baume, which is exactly how it is still pronounced today. Later scholars deliberately reinserted the l to mirror the Latin balsamum, leaving the spelling out of step with the sound; this is why the l sits silently in the middle of the word. From the literal soothing ointment, the sense broadened to mean anything that comforts or relieves, and the related word balsam preserves the fuller Latin form.

How the word is built

• balm (from Latin balsamum, an aromatic resin); the modern spelling restores the silent -l-