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definitions

balm-of-Gilead

[bahm-uh v-gil-ee-uh d]
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.
  3. a hybrid North American poplar, Populus gileadensis, cultivated as a shade tree.

Origin of balm-of-Gilead

First recorded in 1695–1705
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for balm-of-gilead

Historical Examples of balm-of-gilead

  • He said the balm-of-Gilead lint was much better than the linen lint.

  • What an unlooked for flight was this from our shadowy avenue of black-ash and balm-of-gilead trees into the infinite!

  • 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

  • We also cleared up the slope round it and set out borders of young pine and balm-of-Gilead trees.

    A Busy Year at the Old Squire's

    Charles Asbury Stephens

  • 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.