balmy

(bä'mē)
adj., -i·er, -i·est.

1. Having the quality or fragrance of balm; soothing.
2. Mild and pleasant: a balmy breeze.
3. Chiefly British Slang. Eccentric in behavior.

[Sense 3, alteration of BARMY, frothy.]

balmily balm'i·ly adv.
balminess balm'i·ness n.

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These two words come from two roots, although the lines of descent have become intertwined: balmy (meaning 'deliciously fragrant') comes from balm (see the entry above) and barmy (as now used colloquially, meaning 'stupid') comes from barm, meaning 'froth'. However, barmy is an altered form of balmy, which also had the colloquial meaning in the 19th century and early 20th century. Consequently they may be regarded as spelling variants; but current usage favours the distinction given above. Since the 1980s the expression barmy army has been used informally to describe groups of political fanatics and, by extension, jingoistic sports supporters (especially of the English cricket team) and others:

We've had what feels like 900 years of Blair's barmy army now so we know how the system works—weblog, New Zealand English 2005 [Old English (up to 1150)C].

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adjective

Free from severity or violence, as in movement: delicate, faint, gentle, mild, smooth, soft. See calm/agitation, strong/weak.

balmy²

adjective

So senseless as to be laughable: absurd, foolish, harebrained, idiotic, imbecilic, insane, lunatic, mad, moronic, nonsensical, preposterous, silly, softheaded, tomfool, unearthly, zany. Informal cockeyed, crazy, loony, loopy. Slang dippy, dopey, jerky, sappy, wacky. See ability/inability, knowledge/ignorance.

adj

Definition: hot and humid
Antonyms: cool, inclement, wintry

adj

Definition: insane
Antonyms: balanced, rational, sane, sensible

IN BRIEF: n. - The quality of weather that is deliciously mild and soothing.

A cold spell brought a dusting of snow to parts of central Florida, but a warming trend will have the Sunshine State back to its normal balminess by the weekend, forecasters said. — http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2006-11-21-florida-cold_x.htm

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adjective
adjective

= barmy.

Previous:	ballyhoo, bally, ballsy
Next:	baloney, bamboozle, bananas

For a list of words related to balmy, see:

• Mild weather
• Foolish, Immature, Bigoted, or Trivial
• Insanity - balmy: (adj) Informal. crazy

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See words rhyming with "balmy."

Dansk (Danish)
1.
adj. - balsamisk, velduftende

2.
adj. - lindrende

Nederlands (Dutch)
zacht, kalmerend, gek, aangenaam

Français (French)
1.
adj. - embaumé, parfumé, doux, adoucissant, (Bot) balsamique

2.
adj. - (GB) timbré, maboul (arg), excentrique (en parlant du comportement)

Deutsch (German)
1.
adj. - mild, balsamisch

2.
adj. - bescheuert, ungewöhnlich

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - ήπιος, ευχάριστος, του βάλσαμου, ζουρλός, παλαβός

Italiano (Italian)
mite

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - balsâmico, fragrante, tolo (gír.)

Русский (Russian)
мягкий, приятный, успокаивающий, ароматический, целебный

Español (Spanish)
1.
adj. - templado

2.
adj. - loco, tonto, excéntrico

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - balsamisk, lindrande, knasig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 温和的, 柔和的, 芬芳的, 芳香的, 宜人的

2. 镇痛的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
adj. - 鎮痛的

2.
adj. - 溫和的, 柔和的, 芬芳的, 芳香的, 宜人的

한국어 (Korean)
1.
adj. - 상쾌한, 향기로운, 부드러운

2.
adj. - 정신이 나간

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 穏やかな, かぐわしい, 慰めとなる, ばかな

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) بلسمي, مرطب, هادىء, لطيف‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮ריחני, נעים, מרגיע‬
adj. - ‮שוטה, בעל התנהגות מוזרה‬

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