nard
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English narde, from Latin nardus, from Ancient Greek νάρδος (nárdos), ultimately from Sanskrit नरद (nárada, “Indian spikenard”).
[edit] Noun
nard (countable and uncountable; plural nards)
- A flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of China, used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, flatulence, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.
- A fragrant oil formerly much prized from the plant.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark XIV:
- there cam a woman with an alablaster boxe of oyntmenr, called narde, that was pure and costly, and she brake the boxe and powred it on his heed.
- 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark XIV:
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] References
- nard, in Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1987.