Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BALM, n. [l mute; Fr. baume, a contraction of balsam, which see.]

1. The sap or juice of trees or shrubs remarkably odoriferous or aromatic. – Dryden.
2. Any fragrant or valuable ointment. – Shak.
3. Any thing which heals, or which soothes or mitigates pain. – Shak. Young.
4. In botany, the name of several plants, particularly of the genus Melissa. They are aromatic, and used as corroborants. Balm of Gilead. A plant of the genus Amyris. Its leaves yield, when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this plant is obtained the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca or of Syria. It has a yellowish or greenish color, a warm bitterish aromatic taste, and an acidulous fragrant smell. It is valued as an odoriferous unguent, and cosmetic, by the Turks, who possess the country of its growth, and hence it is adulterated for market. – Encyc.