Meanings
plural balsamines
- A plant, the Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.
Synonyms: balsam, garden balsam, garden balsamine, rose balsam, touch-me-not, spotted snapweed
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA plant, the Impatiens balsamina, or garden balsam.
Origin
- Ancient Greekβαλσαμίνη
- Frenchbalsamine
- Latinbalsamina“balsam plant”
- Englishbalsamine
From Latin balsamina (“balsam plant”) (perhaps via French balsamine), from Ancient Greek βαλσαμίνη (balsamínē). The Latin name of the unrelated balsam plant must have been applied to Impatiens balsamina soon after it arrived in Europe- Leonhart Fuchs referred to it as balsamina as early as 1542.
More words from Latin, French, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
balsamine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balsamine
“balsamine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balsamine. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “balsamine,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/balsamine.
Source: balsamine on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.