balm-of-Gilead

[ bahm-uhv-gil-ee-uhd ]

noun
  1. any of several plants of the genus Commiphora, especially C. opobalsamum and C. meccanensis, which yield a fragrant oleoresin.

  2. Also called Mecca balsam. the resin itself, a turbid yellow, green, or brownish-red water-insoluble gluey liquid, used chiefly in perfumery.

  1. a hybrid North American poplar, Populus gileadensis, cultivated as a shade tree.

Origin of balm-of-Gilead

1
First recorded in 1695–1705

Words Nearby balm-of-Gilead

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use balm-of-Gilead in a sentence

  • Once in a long while you may see a balm-of-Gilead tree, or a clump of sapling poplars, planted near the door.

    Little Rivers | Henry van Dyke
  • The white fir grew to a much larger tree than the balm-of-Gilead he had known in the East, and the lower branches were tough.

    The Boy With the U. S. Foresters | Francis Rolt-Wheeler
  • They were making it into five hay-cocks, which were arranged in a circle under a huge balm-of-Gilead tree.

    Five Mice in a Mouse-trap | Laura E. Richards
  • What an unlooked for flight was this from our shadowy avenue of black-ash and balm-of-Gilead trees into the infinite!

  • Nor was the enthusiasm of Billy's send-off balm-of-Gilead to his soul as the carriage moved away from the hotel steps.

    The Bachelors | William Dana Orcutt

British Dictionary definitions for balm of Gilead

balm of Gilead

noun
  1. any of several trees of the burseraceous genus Commiphora, esp C. opobalsamum of Africa and W Asia, that yield a fragrant oily resin: Compare balm (def. 1), myrrh (def. 1)

  2. the resin exuded by these trees

  1. a North American hybrid female poplar tree, Populus gileadensis (or P. candicans), with broad heart-shaped leaves

  2. a fragrant resin obtained from the balsam fir: See also Canada balsam

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012