bard

¹

[bahrd]

noun

1. (formerly) a person who composed and recited epic or heroic poems, often while playing the harp, lyre, or the like.

2. one of an ancient Celtic order of composers and reciters of poetry.

3. any poet.

4. the bard, William Shakespeare.

bard

²

Also barde

[bahrd]

noun

1. Armor.,  any of various pieces of defensive armor for a horse.

2. 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)

1. Armor.,  to caparison with bards.

2. Cooking.,  to secure thin slices of fat or bacon to (a roast of meat or poultry) before cooking.

bard

¹

/ bɑːd /

noun

1. 1. (formerly) one of an ancient Celtic order of poets who recited verses about the exploits, often legendary, of their tribes

   2. (in modern times) a poet who wins a verse competition at a Welsh eisteddfod

2. archaic,  any poet, esp one who writes lyric or heroic verse or is of national importance

bard

²

/ bɑːd /

noun

1. a piece of larding bacon or pork fat placed on game or lean meat during roasting to prevent drying out

2. an ornamental caparison for a horse

verb

1. to place a bard on

Bard

³

/ bɑːd /

noun

1. an epithet of William Shakespeare

Other Word Forms

• bardic adjective
• bardism noun
• bardish adjective
• bardlike adjective
• bardship noun

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bard¹

C14: from Scottish Gaelic; related to Welsh bardd

Origin of bard²

C15: from Old French barde , from Old Italian barda , from Arabic barda`ah packsaddle

Example Sentences

Paul Mescal plays Shakespeare — not the untouchable bard of legend but a husband and father reckoning with grief.

From Los Angeles Times

Ask a roaming bard about the previous ship’s fate and a host of stories start to unravel and reveal themselves — love affairs, hidden secrets, lost maps and the requisite discontentment among the ship’s keep.

From Los Angeles Times

Lansdale, the genre bard of East Texas, brings the deeply flawed and deeply human crime-fighting duo Hap and Leonard back for a 14th time.

From Los Angeles Times

Joshua Oppenheimer is our age’s great bard of cognitive dissonance.

From New York Times

Nearly a decade after the death of his 15-year-old son, the Australian post-punk bard has a new album, ‘Wild God,’ that he says finds a path to joy.

From Los Angeles Times