heart balm en · NOUN
Etymology
From heart + balm.
Meanings
-
(countable, idiomatic, uncountable) Something that soothes a person's fears or emotions.
So many things, however, are a genuine heartbalm like the prickles of the Pleiades rising on the night.
1974, Lawrence Durrell, Monsieur, Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 211:
- (countable, uncountable) A fine for a breach of promise (to marry).
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| heart-balm | alternative | lexicographic | |
| heartbalm | alternative | lexicographic | |
| heart balms | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Translations (2)
fi palsamia sydämelle (idiomatic: something soothing) · de Balsam für die Seele (idiomatic: something soothing)