nard

American  

[nahrd] / nɑrd /

noun

1. an aromatic Himalayan plant, believed to be the spikenard, Nardostachys jatamansi, the source of an ointment used by the ancients.

2. the ointment.

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nard British  

/ nɑːd /

noun

1. another name for spikenard spikenard

2. any of several plants, such as certain valerians, whose aromatic roots were formerly used in medicine

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Other Word Forms

• nardine
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of nard

1350–1400; Middle English narde < Latin nardus < Greek nárdos < Semitic; compare Hebrew nērd

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nard

Say "Mr. Tabor" to any St. Ber. nard boy and he will answer mechanically, "Mr. Jenkins."

From Time Magazine Archive

On the question of who sat where, Prince Alfonso de Borbon y Dampierre came out ahead of Dr. Christiaan Bar nard for the seat of honor at the right hand of Princess Grace of Monaco.

From Time Magazine Archive

"I shall change Coc into Poc, nard into lin; and instead of Coquenard I shall have Poquelin."

From The Vicomte de Bragelonne Or Ten Years Later being the completion of "The Three Musketeers" And "Twenty Years After" by Alexandre Dumas père

Here they sell you balls of nard and honey, And squat jars of clarid butter, And the cheese from Kurdistan.

From Lundy's Lane and Other Poems by Duncan Campbell Scott

They were villagers, or women of the street; these last dressed gaudily, had dyed hair, brows, and nails; they wore immense ear-rings and coin necklaces, and gave out from a distance the odor of nard.

From Hania by Henryk Sienkiewicz