DCHP-2

Canada balsam DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1

  the clear resin of the balsam fir, much used as a cement in optical work, formerly used widely as a balm on cuts and minor wounds, and once popular as a chewing gum.

  See also: balsam (fir) (def. 3)  balsam gum  Canadian balsam  

  • 1811  Exportes . . . 6 Casks Canada Balsam. . . .
  • 1893  Another useful thing one comes across in walking over the portages is the Canada balsam, which exudes from a species of spruce. . . .
  • 1919  [It is] famous for the blisters on its trunk yielding Canada balsam. . . .

• 2

  a slender evergreen, Abies balsamea, found in Canada from northeastern Alberta eastward, the source of Canada balsam (def. 1).

  See also: balsam (fir) (def. 1)  Canadian balsam (def. 2)  

  • 1894  . . . balsam poplar, Canada balsam, paper birch. . . .
  • 1923  [He was] coating the entire surface [of a canoe] with . . . Canada-balsam pitch.