Mecca balsam

noun

1. balm-of-Gilead.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Mecca balsam¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

The modern “balm of Gilead” or “Mecca balsam,” an aromatic gum produced by the Balsamodendron opobalsamum, is more likely the Hebrew mōr, which the English Bible wrongly renders “myrrh.”

From Project Gutenberg

Of so-called balsams, entirely destitute of cinnamic and benzoic constituents, the following are found in commerce:—Mecca balsam or Balm of Gilead, from Commiphora opobalsamum, a tree growing in Arabia and Abyssinia, is supposed to be the balm of Scripture and the βάλσαμον of Theophrastus.

From Project Gutenberg