What does bdellium mean?
Bdellium is an aromatic gum resin exuded by trees of the genus Commiphora, the same group that yields myrrh. In the ancient Near East it was prized as an ingredient in perfumes, incense, and medicine, and it traveled the caravan routes of Arabia and Africa alongside more famous resins. The word is best known today from its appearance in the Hebrew Bible, where Genesis 2:12 lists bdellium among the treasures of the land of Havilah, together with gold and onyx stone. Because the biblical reference is brief and the resin itself was never precisely described there, scholars have long debated exactly which plant substance the original text denoted. In modern usage bdellium survives chiefly in scholarly and historical writing — biblical commentary, archaeology, and histories of ancient commerce and pharmacology — rather than in ordinary conversation. Its air of antiquity makes it a favorite of crossword setters and vocabulary enthusiasts, and its exotic sound gives any sentence an unmistakably ancient flavor.
nounAn aromatic gum resin obtained from trees of the genus Commiphora (and related species), used since antiquity in perfumes, medicine, and incense; it is also the name of a substance mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as a product of the land of Havilah.
- An aromatic gum resin from Commiphora and related trees, used in perfumery, incense, and traditional medicine.
- The substance named as a precious product of the land of Havilah in Genesis 2:12.
"The ancient traders carried myrrh and bdellium along the caravan routes out of Arabia."
"Physicians of the ancient world prescribed bdellium as a remedy for coughs and wounds."
"In Genesis, the river Pison compassed the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold and bdellium and the onyx stone."
Rarely used; bdellium normally functions as an uncountable mass noun, with quantities expressed as 'gum of bdellium' or 'pieces of bdellium'.
"The apothecary's shelves held jars of myrrh, frankincense, and various bdelliums from the eastern trade."
Bdellium appears in the Bible's very first inventory of riches — gold, bdellium, and onyx stone in the land of Havilah — yet almost nobody today can pronounce it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bdellium
Bdellium entered English in the late Middle Ages through Latin bdellium, which borrowed from Greek bdellion, a name for an aromatic gum resin. The Greek term itself ultimately derives from a Semitic source, commonly identified with Hebrew bəḏōlaḥ, the word used in Genesis for the substance of Havilah. A related Greek root, bdella meaning 'leech', gave rise to modern scientific terms such as bdelloid, though the two senses are distinct in English.
How bdellium is actually used
A learned, largely historical term encountered mainly in biblical commentary, archaeology, and writings on ancient trade and materia medica. It is rarely used in everyday speech, and the exact botanical source of the biblical substance remains debated among scholars.