George A. Parks
Did you know?
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
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 23 Jan. 2026
Recurring parentheticals create nooks on the page, opening portals onto passing thoughts or faraway places (a balmy beach, a portside terrace), while forays into the present tense momentarily suspend narrative time with liveness and immediacy, particularly at moments of heightened emotion.
—Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Where to Taste Wine on Madeira An island off the coast of Africa, with balmy year-round temperatures and high humidity, seems an unlikely place to produce one of the world’s oldest and longest-lasting wines.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026
The South ranges from windswept mountains to the balmy Gulf Coast.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for balmy
Cite this Entry
“Balmy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balmy. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
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