nard

English

Etymology

From Middle English narde, from Latin nardus, from Ancient Greek νάρδος (nárdos), ultimately from Sanskrit नरद (nárada, “Indian spikenard”).

Noun

nard (countable and uncountable; plural nards)

1. 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.
2. 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.

Derived terms

• spikenard

References

• nard, in Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2nd edition, 1987.

Anagrams

• darn
• rand, Rand, RAND
• rDNA