bard
noun
(formerly) a person who composed and recited epic or heroic poems, often while playing the harp, lyre, or the like.
bard
1 American
[bahrd]
/ bɑrd /
noun
-
(formerly) a person who composed and recited epic or heroic poems, often while playing the harp, lyre, or the like.
-
one of an ancient Celtic order of composers and reciters of poetry.
-
any poet.
-
the bard, William Shakespeare.
bard
2
American
[bahrd]
/ bɑrd /
Also
barde
noun
-
Armor. any of various pieces of defensive armor for a horse.
-
Cooking. a thin slice of fat or bacon secured to a roast of meat or poultry to prevent its drying out while cooking.
verb (used with object)
-
bards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
barded,
past participle, past
-
barding
present participle
-
Armor. to caparison with bards.
-
Cooking. to secure thin slices of fat or bacon to (a roast of meat or poultry) before cooking.
bard
1
British
/ bɑːd /
noun
-
-
(formerly) one of an ancient Celtic order of poets who recited verses about the exploits, often legendary, of their tribes
-
(in modern times) a poet who wins a verse competition at a Welsh eisteddfod
-
-
archaic any poet, esp one who writes lyric or heroic verse or is of national importance
bard
2
British
/ bɑːd /
noun
-
a piece of larding bacon or pork fat placed on game or lean meat during roasting to prevent drying out
-
an ornamental caparison for a horse
verb
Bard
3
British
/ bɑːd /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bardsimple
-
bardssimple
-
have bardedperfect
-
has bardedperfect
-
am bardingprogressive
-
are bardingprogressive
-
is bardingprogressive
-
have been bardingperfect progressive
-
has been bardingperfect progressive
Past
-
bardedsimple
-
had bardedperfect
-
was bardingprogressive
-
were bardingprogressive
-
had been bardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bard1
1400–50; late Middle English < Celtic; compare Irish, Scots Gaelic bard, Welsh bardd, Breton barz < Indo-European *gwrs-do-s singer, akin to Albanian grisha (I) invited (to a wedding)
Origin of bard2
1470–80; < Middle French barde < Southern Italian barda armor for a horse < Arabic bardaʿah packsaddle < Persian pardah covering
Explanation
If you’ve heard the word bard, it was probably in English class. William Shakespeare has been known as "The Bard" since the nineteenth century, but the word has a much older history, and, when it's not capitalized, it simply means "lyric poet." In civilizations without written histories, poets and singers were the ones to spread the word from place to place and across generations. In ancient and medieval Gaelic societies, the professional storytellers were called bards (or bardds, in Wales). Irish bards were part of a chieftain's household, and their job was to record and proclaim the exploits of their lord — although a bard might also compose blistering satires if he was displeased with his employer.
Vocabulary lists containing bard
The Odyssey
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April Vocabulary Words
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Shakespeare
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
And even as he found success in Hollywood, Stewart's love of theater, and the bard in particular, never left him.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026
I once had a news director who, in the midst of marital issues, carried a guitar from cubicle to cubicle like the world’s saddest bard.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Via the rapper Travis Scott, who has a cameo as a bard who dramatically recounts Odysseus’ exploits, Mr. Nolan draws a line from the ancient oral tradition to today’s street poetry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
They beat themselves up over both of those performances - "jobby" was midfielder John McGinn's description and no bard could have come up with a better description.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Taran squeezed in between the bard and Doli, who grumbled bitterly about the table being too high.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
We can credit the actor’s innate emotional agility for his commitment to every part, or a versatility earned over decades of playing many major heroes and villains the Bard scribbled onto parchment.
From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026
When Google first launched its Gemini AI tool, initially called Bard, it also did not allow children to use it.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Tapping Travis Scott to play the Bard singing the tales of Odysseus’ exploits, for example, doesn’t merely reframe the role of ancient storytellers and poets as that age’s rappers.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
And draft picks whose relatives have ties to the Dodgers or Angels draw interest: Salmon, Ebel, Gasparino, Willits and Bard qualify.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
And she pulled out The Tales of Beedle the Bard from the small, beaded bag.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
This renders Mr. Bacon’s subtitle inapt: “The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald” has been told and retold by authors and bards.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
Oh, SZA — just to add to the bards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2025
The exploits of Sundiata Keita, a near-mythical figure in the Mande oral tradition, have been passed down by generations of bards.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
In the same way we accept that bar fights get more dangerous if someone decides to punch up Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades” on a jukebox, bards can cast spells in Dungeons & Dragons.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2023
A harp with a beautiful, sweeping curve was slung from his shoulder, but otherwise he looked nothing at all like the bards Taran had learned about from The Book of Three.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
You’ll note that they’re using both normal cassowaries as well as a twin-mounted fully barded champron-equipped Maximum cassowary with criniere and boiled leather peytral.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 1, 2014
His steel was a deep cobalt, even the blunt momingstar he wielded with such deadly effect, his mount barded in the quartered sun-and-moon heraldry of House Tarth.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
He rode a coal-black horse barded all in white, with the pure white shield of the Kingsguard strapped to his arm.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The horse was barded in bronze- colored trappings dyed to match the rider's cloak and emblazoned with the burning tree.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The Frenche kyng sette hymself on a courser barded, covered with purple sattin, broched with golde, and embraudered with corbyns fethers round and buckeled; the fether was blacke and hached with gold.
From The Art of Needle-work, from the Earliest Ages, 3rd ed. Including Some Notices of the Ancient Historical Tapestries by Sutherland Menzies
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