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
Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 16 May 2025
In the seconds after Wayne Rooney swept Manchester United into a Champions League lead over Debrecen on a balmy August evening in 2005, a question asked in the directors’ box caused unique confusion.
—Laurie Whitwell, New York Times, 11 May 2025
Plus, the breathable material is designed to keep your body’s temperature regulated all night long, even amidst warm, balmy weather.
—Toni Sutton, People.com, 11 May 2025
Blessed for most part by balmy weather, French TV fest Canneseries launched a new life this week, staging its first standalone edition without a parallel MipTV or Mipcom supplying a big buyer base sitting literally just yards from Canneseries screenings.
—John Hopewell, Variety, 30 Apr. 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 24 May. 2025.
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