Balm (French, baume)

Contraction of balsam (q.v.). The Balm of Gilead = the balsam of Gilead.

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no remedy, no consolation, not even in religion?

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.