Search Result for "abies_balsamea":
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. medium-sized fir of northeastern North America; leaves smell of balsam when crushed; much used for pulpwood and Christmas trees;
[syn: balsam fir, balm of Gilead, Canada balsam, Abies balsamea]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Balm \Balm\ (b[aum]m), n. [OE. baume, OF. bausme, basme, F. baume, L. balsamum balsam, from Gr. ba`lsamon; perhaps of Semitic origin; cf. Heb. b[=a]s[=a]m. Cf. Balsam.] [1913 Webster] 1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa. [1913 Webster] 2. The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs. --Dryden. [1913 Webster] 3. Any fragrant ointment. --Shak. [1913 Webster] 4. Anything that heals or that mitigates pain. "Balm for each ill." --Mrs. Hemans. [1913 Webster] Balm cricket (Zool.), the European cicada. --Tennyson. Balm of Gilead (Bot.), a small evergreen African and Asiatic tree of the terebinthine family (Balsamodendron Gileadense). Its leaves yield, when bruised, a strong aromatic scent; and from this tree is obtained the balm of Gilead of the shops, or balsam of Mecca. This has a yellowish or greenish color, a warm, bitterish, aromatic taste, and a fragrant smell. It is valued as an unguent and cosmetic by the Turks. The fragrant herb Dracocephalum Canariense is familiarly called balm of Gilead, and so are the American trees, Populus balsamifera, variety candicans (balsam poplar), and Abies balsamea (balsam fir). [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Balsam \Bal"sam\ (b[add]l"sam), n. [L. balsamum the balsam tree or its resin, Gr. ba`lsamon. See Balm, n.] 1. A resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil. [1913 Webster] Note: The balsams are aromatic resinous substances, flowing spontaneously or by incision from certain plants. A great variety of substances pass under this name, but the term is now usually restricted to resins which, in addition to a volatile oil, contain benzoic and cinnamic acid. Among the true balsams are the balm of Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu. There are also many pharmaceutical preparations and resinous substances, possessed of a balsamic smell, to which the name balsam has been given. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot.) (a) A species of tree (Abies balsamea). (b) An annual garden plant (Impatiens balsamina) with beautiful flowers; balsamine. [1913 Webster] 3. Anything that heals, soothes, or restores. [1913 Webster] Was not the people's blessing a balsam to thy blood? --Tennyson. [1913 Webster] Balsam apple (Bot.), an East Indian plant (Momordica balsamina), of the gourd family, with red or orange-yellow cucumber-shaped fruit of the size of a walnut, used as a vulnerary, and in liniments and poultices. Balsam fir (Bot.), the American coniferous tree, Abies balsamea, from which the useful Canada balsam is derived. Balsam of copaiba. See Copaiba. Balsam of Mecca, balm of Gilead. Balsam of Peru, a reddish brown, syrupy balsam, obtained from a Central American tree (Myroxylon Pereir[ae] and used as a stomachic and expectorant, and in the treatment of ulcers, etc. It was long supposed to be a product of Peru. Balsam of Tolu, a reddish or yellowish brown semisolid or solid balsam, obtained from a South American tree (Myroxylon toluiferum). It is highly fragrant, and is used as a stomachic and expectorant. Balsam tree, any tree from which balsam is obtained, esp. the Abies balsamea. Canada balsam, Balsam of fir, Canada turpentine, a yellowish, viscid liquid, which, by time and exposure, becomes a transparent solid mass. It is obtained from the balm of Gilead (or balsam) fir (Abies balsamea) by breaking the vesicles upon the trunk and branches. See Balm. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

Abies balsamea n 1: medium-sized fir of northeastern North America; leaves smell of balsam when crushed; much used for pulpwood and Christmas trees [syn: balsam fir, balm of Gilead, Canada balsam, Abies balsamea]