1725: balm, embalm, and balsamic Sep 4, 2019

We probably don't think of ritual embalming when we think of lip balm, but looking at those two words together might make you think twice. The words are clearly related, but it is 'embalming' meaning 'preparing a corpse for burial' which is the divergent one. 'Balm' and 'embalm', and for that matter 'balsam' and 'balsamic' all used to mean simply 'something, usually an ointment to give a pleasing odor'; 'balm' is also just a variant of an earlier 'balsm'. However, nowadays, both 'balm' and 'embalm' have moved away from the connotation to scent and towards skin preservation, which granted was what balsamic ointments generally were for anyway, but the meaning stayed more or less in 'balsam' and 'balsamic'.

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