balm-of-Gilead

[ bahm-uh v-gil-ee-uh d ]
/ ˈbɑm əvˈgɪl i əd /

noun

any of several plants of the genus Commiphora, especially C. opobalsamum and C. meccanensis, which yield a fragrant oleoresin.
Also called Mecca balsam. the resin itself, a turbid yellow, green, or brownish-red water-insoluble gluey liquid, used chiefly in perfumery.
a hybrid North American poplar, Populus gileadensis, cultivated as a shade tree.

Origin of balm-of-Gilead

First recorded in 1695–1705

Example sentences from the Web for balm-of-gilead

  • 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

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

    The Oxford Book of American Essays |Various

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

    Our Young Folks at Home and Abroad |Various

  • 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