ProbableNamed through a historical place-name
balm of Gilead
noun · first attested 16th century
The North American balm of Gilead is a poplar bud, not the Levantine resin.
A fragrant medicinal resin of the ancient Levant, and by extension anything that soothes.
Record
- Relationship
- Named through a historical place-name
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 16th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Gilead
- In English
balm of Gilead
Gilead is a highland region east of the Jordan, in what is now northwestern Jordan, famous in antiquity for an aromatic balsam that English Bibles made proverbial. Which plant the original resin came from is still argued, and settlers later moved the name onto the sticky buds of the North American balsam poplar.