balm of Gilead
- noun
- /bɑlm əv ˈɡɪliəd/
- Literature
:
bálsamo de Gilead
- Many people find music to be a balm of Gilead during difficult moments in their lives.
Examples
-
The warm soup served as a balm of Gilead for his feelings of sadness after the long day.
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After the argument, she sought out nature as a balm of Gilead for her troubled mind.
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The air is full of birds and sweet with the breath of the pine, the balm of Gilead and the new hay.
Synonyms
319
1.0
Things people say or do to make someone feel less worried
102
3.8
Something that makes you feel better after loss or disappointment
55
5.1
Comfort that helps you when you feel sad or upset
Something that makes a worried person feel calm
Comfort that helps you feel less sad during hard times
Something that makes you feel less sad
Antonyms
How Comforting
Surface Forms
Morphology
balm + of + Gilead
Because 'balm' denotes a soothing medicinal substance, a learner who knows 'balm' and recognizes 'Gilead' as a place can plausibly infer a literal soothing ointment and analogically arrive at 'something that brings comfort'. However, the extended, conventionalized figurative meaning depends on biblical/cultural knowledge of 'Gilead' and idiomatic usage, so the full sense is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without exposure.
Etymology
Balm of Gilead became a way to talk about comfort because the original balm was thought to cure pain and wounds. So today people call something a 'balm of Gilead' when it brings 'comfort or relief'.