When air or weather is balmy, it is warm in a kind, gentle way — not burning, not sticky, just pleasantly warm, often with a light breeze. People reach for it for a spring evening, a late-summer night, a seaside walk. A weather report or a novel may say a balmy breeze; you would not usually call a heavy 35-degree Taipei afternoon balmy. That is simply hot. The word feels a little soft and pleasant, even a bit old-fashioned in a nice way. Though actually, some British speakers also say balmy to mean a bit mad — but that is really the separate word barmy wearing the wrong spelling. This entry is the weather one.