'balsamine' originates from French, specifically the word 'balsamine', ultimately from Latin 'balsamum' and Greek 'balsamon', with roots in Semitic languages where a form meaning 'perfume' or 'spice' existed.

'balsamine' changed from medieval/Old French 'balsamine' (and from Latin 'balsamum') into English usage; the word was used in older English texts to refer both to aromatic resins and to the plants that produce them, and eventually became a botanical name applied to certain Impatiens.

Initially, it meant 'a balsam or fragrant resin', but over time it evolved to include the botanical sense of 'a plant (especially of the genus Impatiens) that yields or resembles balsam', and today is chiefly a botanical or archaic term.