nard

[ nahrd ]

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.

Origin of nard

1
1350–1400; Middle English narde<Latin nardus<Greek nárdos<Semitic; compare Hebrew nērd

Other words from nard

  • nar·dine [nahr-din, -dahyn], /ˈnɑr dɪn, -daɪn/, adjective

Words Nearby nard

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How to use nard in a sentence

  • Newsflash nard-dawg, unplanned pregnancy is sometimes a good thing.

    TV Does Sex Ed | Abby Haglage | October 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • At Palermo you boasted you loved to talk with a foe over two sword-blades; Syrian nard softens your courage and your arm.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • "The warmth of thy garments hath a goodlier smell than myrrh, than nard," he is saying, avidly touching her ear with his lips.

  • By subtle means, insidious as the breath of nard, corruption of primeval sin was spread from race to race.

  • Everywhere was given out the odor of nard, to which Vinicius had grown used, and which he had learned to love in the Orient.

    Quo Vadis | Henryk Sienkiewicz
  • And he smelled the smoke of nard and soltziphal burning in the cressets of the servants of Tishnar.

    The Three Mulla-mulgars | Walter De La Mare

British Dictionary definitions for nard

nard

/ (nɑːd) /


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

Origin of nard

1
C14: via Latin from Greek nárdos, perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit nalada Indian spikenard, perhaps via Semitic (Hebrew nēr'd, Arabic nārdīn)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012