Adjacent Words

Spikenard definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SPIKENARD, n. spik'nard. [L. spica nardi.]
1. A plant of the genus Nardus.
2. The oil of balsam procured from the spikenard.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French or Medieval Latin; Anglo-French spicanarde, from Medieval Latin spica nardi, literally, spike of nard Date: 14th century 1. a. a fragrant ointment of the ancients b. a Himalayan aromatic plant (Nardostachys jatamansi) of the valerian family from which spikenard is believed to have been derived 2. a North American perennial herb (Aralia racemosa) of the ginseng family with an aromatic root and panicled umbels

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 Bot. an Indian plant, Nardostachys grandiflora. 2 hist. a costly perfumed ointment made from this. Etymology: ME ult. f. med.L spica nardi (as SPIKE(2), NARD) after Gk nardostakhus

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. 2. A fragrant essential oil, as that from the Nardostachys Jatamansi.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

(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.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

spik'-nard (nerd; nardos (So 1:12; 4:14); neradhim; nardoi (So 4:13), "spikenard plants"; nardos pistike (Mr 14:3; Joh 12:3), "pure nard," margin "liquid nard"; the English word is for "spiked nard," which comes from the Nardus spicatus of the Vulgate): Spikenard is the plant Nardostachys jatamansi (Natural Order, Valerianaceae); in Arabic the name Sunbul hind, "Indian spike," refers, like the English and Latin name, to the "snike"-like shape of the plant from which the perfume comes. The dried plant as sold consists of the "withered stalks and ribs of leaves cohering in a bundle of yellowish-brown capillary fibres and consisting of a spike about the size of a small finger" (Sir W. Jones, As. Res., II, 409); in appearance the whole plant is said to look like the tail of an ermine. It grows in the Himalayas. The extracted perfume is an oil, which was used by the Romans for anointing the head. Its great costliness is mentioned by Pliny.

With regard to the exact meaning of the pistike, in the New Testament, there is much difference of opinion: "pure" and "liquid" are both given in margin, but it has also been suggested among other things that this was a local name, that it comes from the Latin spicita or from pisita, the Sanskrit name of the spikenard plant. The question is an open one: either "genuine" or "pure" is favored by most commentators.

E. W. G. Masterman