nard
/nɑɹd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.07 in modern English
5
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A flowering plant of species Nardostachys jatamansi, in the valerian family, that grows in the Himalayas and is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
American spikenard (Aralia racemosa), a North American perennial herb with an aromatic root.
Countable; Uncountable
name
A diminutive of the male given name Bernard.
Example Sentences
- "[…]there cam a womã with an alablaſter boxe of oyntment / called narde / that was pure and coſtly / and ſhe brake the boxe ãd powred it on his heed."
- "The Roman poet Horace refers to a lecherous old fop "scented with nard.""
- "The soccer ball hit me right in the nards!"
- "I’m sure whoever was in charge must have been one of the last of the Fulda Fucktards, you know, those generals who spent their nard-drop years training to defend West Germany from Ivan."
- ""Nard", a people reported by tradition to have formerly posessed this country (Circassia)."
Etymology
From Middle English narde, from Old French narde, Latin nardus, from Ancient Greek νάρδος (nárdos), from Phoenician [Term?], Sanskrit नलद (nálada, “Indian narde”). Doublet of nardus.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /nɑɹd/
- British English: /nɑːd/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- American usage
- Slang
- Obsolete
Inflected Forms
nards (plural)
narde (alternative)