George A. Parks
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Aromatic ointments and fragrances are the bomb. They are also, literally, balms: healing substances and soothing scents with the power to ease both mind and body. The original balm, what Latin-speakers referred to as balsamum, was the oleoresin of a species of balsam tree. In Anglo-French, balsamum became basme and baume, spellings which entered Middle English and later became balm. Balm eventually begat the adjective balmy, used to describe things with a balm’s comforting, calming qualities, as when Shakespeare’s Othello speaks of “balmy slumbers.” Today balmy is typically used to describe the weather—balmy breezes, balmy temperatures, balmy spring afternoons, et al—conditions that are neither too hot nor too cold, but just right—Goldilocks conditions, even.
Examples of balmy in a Sentence
Siobhan Reid, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2025
Known for balmy weather, Miami ranks fifth in the nation for activities.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Beneath blue skies and the beating sun, the temperature gauge at Oracle Park read 80 degrees at first pitch Saturday afternoon, the balmiest conditions for a baseball game on the shores of McCovey Cove in more than four years.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 31 Aug. 2025
But the issue at hand on this balmy August afternoon at the headquarters of SOWEGA Rising isn’t the typical topic for civil rights organizers.
—Justin Worland, Time, 27 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for balmy
Cite this Entry
“Balmy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balmy. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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