A Topical Dictionary: Search for spikenard

Dictionary Results For "spikenard" [?]/[OPML]

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English

Noun

spikenard

a perfumed ointment
the plant from which the ointment comes

Quotations

:*While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof. (Song of Solomon 1:12, KJV)
:*A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices (Song of Solomon 4:12-14, KJV)
:*1916: The glories of Mary held his soul captive : spikenard and myrrh and frankincense, symbolising the preciousness of God's gifts to her soul, rich garments, symbolising her royal lineage, her emblems, the lateflowering plant and lateblossoming tree, symbolising the agelong gradual growth of her cultus among men. - w:James Joyce|James Joyce, ''w:Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man|Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, 98)

Category:English nouns

io:spikenard hu:spikenard te:spikenard vi:spikenard

GNU Project's publication of CIDE, the Collaborative International Dictionary of English Spikenard \Spike"nard\, n.[For spiked nard; cf. G. spieknarde,
NL. spica nardi. See Spike an ear, and Nard.]
1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant. In the United States it is the
Aralia racemosa, often called spignet, and used as a
medicine. The spikenard of the ancients is the
Nardostachys Jatamansi, a native of the Himalayan
region. From its blackish roots a perfume for the hair is
still prepared in India.
[1913 Webster]

2. A fragrant essential oil, as that from the {Nardostachys
Jatamansi}.
[1913 Webster]

WordNet spikenard
n : an aromatic ointment used in antiquity [syn: nard]

Spikenard (Heb. nerd), a much-valued perfume (Cant. 1:12; 4:13, 14). It was "very precious", i.e., very costly (Mark 14:3; John 12:3,5). It is the root of an Indian plant, the Nardostachys jatamansi, of the family of Valeriance, growing on the Himalaya mountains. It is distinguished by its having many hairy spikes shooting out from one root. It is called by the Arabs sunbul Hindi, "the Indian spike." In the New Testament this word is the rendering of the Greek nardos pistike. The margin of the Revised Version in these passages has "pistic nard," pistic being perhaps a local name. Some take it to mean genuine, and others liquid. The most probable opinion is that the word pistike designates the nard as genuine or faithfully prepared.