balmy

English

WOTD – 6 October 2009

Etymology

From balm +‎ -y. Doublet of balsamic.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑː.mi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑmi/, /ˈbɔmi/, /ˈbɑlmi/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːmi, -ɑːlmi

Adjective

balmy (comparative balmier, superlative balmiest)

1. Producing balm.
2. Soothing or fragrant.
3. Of weather, mild and pleasant.
   • 1949 March 7, “Pyramid Club Craze Sweeps Nation”, in LIFE‎^[1], volume 26, number 10, →ISSN, page 27:

     The new mass hysteria is known as the Pyramid Club and began—like so many other strange and wonderful notions—somewhere under the balmy skies of California.

4. (informal, US) Foolish; slightly crazy or mad; eccentric.

   Synonym: (UK) barmy

   • 1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, Act II, page 125:

     I'm going away. He's off his chump, he is. I dont want no balmies teaching me.

     A noun use.

   • 1958 April 1, Roald Dahl, “Parson's Pleasure”, in Esquire‎^[2], page 148:

     'I reckon he's balmy,' Claud said, and Bert grinned darkly, rolling his misty eye slowly round in its socket.

Derived terms

• balmify
• balmily
• balminess
• barmy (probably)
• unbalmy

 

Translations

soothing or fragrant

• Bulgarian: ароматичен (bg) (aromatičen), уханен (uhanen)
• Czech: vonný (cs)
• Danish: balsamisk (da)
• Finnish: leppoisa (fi), rauhoittava (fi) (soothing), tuoksuva (fi) (fragrant)
• French: embaumant (fr), suave (fr)
• German: lindernd (de), mildernd (de), sanft (de)
• Hungarian: balzsamos (hu), illatos (hu)
• Irish: balsamach

  Old Irish: balsamach

• Russian: арома́тный (ru) (aromátnyj), благоуханный (ru) (blagouxannyj)
• Tamil: குணப்படுத்தத் தக்க (kuṇappaṭuttat takka), மென்மையான (meṉmaiyāṉa)

mild and pleasant

• Bulgarian: мек (bg) (mek), нежен (bg) (nežen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 温暖惬意的

• Czech: vlahý (cs)
• Danish: balsamisk (da)
• Finnish: leppeä (fi), lempeä (fi), leuto (fi)
• French: doux (fr), agréable (fr)
• German: mild (de), sanft (de)
• Hungarian: balzsamos (hu), enyhe (hu)
• Irish: balsamach
• Maori: tūāhuru (of the weather)
• Russian: не́жный (ru) (néžnyj)

colloquial: foolish

• Bulgarian: смахнат (bg) (smahnat)
• Czech: trhlý, střelený
• Finnish: hämy (fi)
• French: cintré (fr), fou (fr), bizarre (fr)
• Hungarian: bolondos (hu), hóbortos (hu)

Anagrams

• lamby