Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An aromatic perennial herb (Nardostachys grandiflora) of the Himalaya Mountains, having rose-purple flowers.
- noun An ointment of antiquity, probably prepared from this plant.
- noun Any of several plants of the genus Aralia, especially the North American species A. racemosa, having small greenish flowers, aromatic roots, and bipinnately compound leaves.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A plant, the source of a famous perfumed unguent of the ancients, now believed to be Nardostachys Jatamansi, closely allied to valerian, found in the Himalayan region.
- noun An aromatic ointment of ancient times, in which spikenard was the characteristic ingredient; nard. It was extremely costly.
- noun A name given to various fragrant essential oils.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) An aromatic plant. In the United States it is the
Aralia racemosa , often calledspignet , and used as a medicine. The spikenard of the ancients is theNardostachys Jatamansi , a native of the Himalayan region. From its blackish roots a perfume for the hair is still prepared in India. - noun A fragrant essential oil, as that from the
Nardostachys Jatamansi .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
perfumed ointment . - noun The
plant , Nardostachys jatamans, from which the ointment comes.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an aromatic ointment used in antiquity
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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The spikenard is a lowly herb, the emblem of humility.
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In another incident the hapless Judas Iscariot questions why Jesus has expensive ointment (a pound of "spikenard" worth 300 denarii, or a year's wages) rubbed on his feet (and wiped off with a woman's hair!).
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED dean 2010
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Season of the Inundation: Sweet, black silt mingled with holy myrrh, melilot, hyssop, spikenard, balsam, cedar, and a hint of melting snow from the Abyssinian hills.
Thor's Day anverie 2009
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In the garden grow "an orchard of pomegranates . . . spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense".
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Geilie's loose, flowing gowns smelled always of the essences she distilled: marigold, chamomile, bay leaf, spikenard, mint, marjoram.
Sick Cycle Carousel 2010
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When Mary washes his feet with expensive spikenard, Judas asks, "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?"
Archive 2007-07-01 David 2007
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When Mary washes his feet with expensive spikenard, Judas asks, "Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?"
Mockery David 2007
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This scent is subtitled “A spikenard perfume” and this is an aromatic plant from which a healing ointment is made; it has been used for both its medicinal properties and in rituals since ancient times and is a component of Indian Ayurvedic traditions.
DSH Perfumes Part Four: Roses and Resins Marina Geigert 2009
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Other significant aromatics in traditional Japanese perfumery are gum-resins such as borneol and camphor, myrrh, frankincense and benzoin; roots such as galangal alpinia and spikenard; patchouli leaves; and spices – cloves, cassia, cinnamon and star anise.
Kimono and Incense Ayala Sender 2009
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Other significant aromatics in traditional Japanese perfumery are gum-resins such as borneol and camphor, myrrh, frankincense and benzoin; roots such as galangal alpinia and spikenard; patchouli leaves; and spices – cloves, cassia, cinnamon and star anise.
Archive 2009-01-01 Ayala Sender 2009
arby commented on the word spikenard
Also known as nard, nardin, and muskroot.
A flowering plant of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of China, India and Nepal. Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.
Lavender (genus Lavandula) was also known by the ancient Greeks as naardus, nard, after the Syrian city Naarda.
October 12, 2007
knitandpurl commented on the word spikenard
"The sweet-woody animal odor of spikenard."
Seedlip and Sweet Apple by Arra Lynn Ross, p 17
December 6, 2010
bilby commented on the word spikenard
Supposedly attracts cats.
December 25, 2012
cats commented on the word spikenard
Meow.
December 26, 2012
chained_bear commented on the word spikenard
"To modern eyes the most striking use of spices is in a huge variety of sauces, both hot and cold, either cooked as an integral part of the dish or added after cooking. There was a sharp sauce to cut fat.... A digestive sauce helped the meat go down with the sharp-sweet combination.... There was a green sauce of pepper, cumin, caraway, spikenard*, 'all types of mixed green herbs,' dates, honey, vinegar, wine, garum, and oil...."
*Spikenard, Nardostachys jatamansi, a scented grass from which an aromatic oil is extracted, is native to northern India."
--Jack Turner, _Spice: The History of a Temptation_ (NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004), 70
November 30, 2016
chained_bear commented on the word spikenard
"The author writes to a business associate, apparently his superior, about different transactions involving sheep, clothing, spikenard (a plant used in medicine and scents), a saddle, stirrups, and straps. Most likely a merchant, he mentions wanting to know his 'profit and loss.' We do not know why he left Iran, but we can speculate that he (or his ancestors) moved east to escape the Islamic conquest, and he ended up in the Khotan region during a particularly turbulent time."
--Valerie Hansen, The Silk Road: A New History (Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 2012), 217-218
January 4, 2017
chained_bear commented on the word spikenard
Interesting usage/historical note in comment on perfumer. Also see nard used on myrrh.
November 28, 2017