spikenard
(ˈspaɪknɑːd)
Forms: α. 4– spikenard (4 speke-, spyknard), 5–6 spikenarde, spyk(e)narde (5 spykenard), 6 spignard, spiknarde, 7 spick-, 7–8 spiknard. β. 4 spikanard. γ. 6 spekenardy, 7 spyke nardy.
[ad. late or med.L. spīca nardī (see spike n.1 and nard n.), rendering Gr. νάρδου στάχυς (also ναρδόσταχυς); perhaps partly after OF. spicanarde fem., spica-, spice-, spiquenard masc., = It. spiganardi, -nardo, Sp. espicanardi, -nardo. Cf. also MDu. spikenaerde, -naert (Du. spijknardus), MLG. spikenardi -nard(us), MHG. spîcanarde (G. spikenarde, with many older variants), MSw. spikinardus, etc.]
1. An aromatic substance (employed in ancient times in the preparation of a costly ointment or oil) obtained from an Eastern plant, now identified as the Nardostachys Jatamansi of Northern India.
| α c 1350 Leben Jesu (1873) 63 Þat oygnement was of spikenard þat mani may do bote. 1382 Wyclif John xii. 3 Therfore Marie took a pound of oynement spikenard [v.r. speke⁓nard], or trewe narde. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) vii. 26 Sum distilles gariofles, spikenarde, and oþer spiceries. 1465 Mann. & Househ. Exp. (Roxb.) 305 Item, for a unce of spykenarde, viij. d. 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 84 Take of cupresse nuttes, spikenard, balaustium, acorne cuppes, of eche an ounce. 1599 B. Jonson Cynthia's Rev. v. iv, The decoction of turmericke, sesama, nard, spikenard. 1671 Salmon Syn. Med. iii. xxii. 401 Indian-leaf; its virtues are the same with Mace and Spicknard. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 50 Chuse the true Spiknard from the Levant. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. India I. 11 A highly scented grass, the essential oil of which is supposed by some to have been the spikenard of the ancients. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xxxii. 12 She bathes the Saviour's feet With costly spikenard and with tears. 1872 Oliver Elem. Bot. ii. 192 Spikenard is the root of Nardostachys jatamansi, a North Indian plant. It has been highly valued as a perfume from early antiquity. |
| β 1382 Wyclif Mark xiv. 3 A womman..hauynge a box of precious oynement spikanard. |
| γ 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 83 Dyp wool in y⊇ oyle of masticke or of spekenardy [1613 spyke Nardy], and laye it vnto the place. |
2. The plant yielding this substance; now
spec. the North Indian
Nardostachys Jatamansi, a plant of the Valerian order.
| 1548 Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 55 Nardus is named in greeke Nardos, in englishe Spyknarde. 1671 Phillips, Spikenard, (Nardus Indica,) an Odoriferous Plant, the Oil whereof is much used in Medicine. 1714 Steele's Poet. Misc., Solomon's Song 242 Spikenard and Cinnamon, that loves the Vale. 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 197 Valerian Jatamansi, or true Spikenard of the ancients, is valued in India..as a remedy in hysteria and epilepsy. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Spikenard, the Nardostachys Jatamansi, a dwarf herbaceous plant,..a native of the Himalayas. 1897 G. O. Morgan Ecl. Virgil iv. 15 Ivy that every⁓where roves with the spikenard's growth interwoven. |
| fig. 1692 W. Marshall Gosp. Myst. Sanct. xiii. 298 Thus your Spikenards will yield their Smell, as godly sorrow..peace,..joy. |
3. † a. Lavender.
Obs. (
Cf. spike n.1 4.)
| 1563 T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 94 Lauender is an hearbe sweet in smelling;..[and] for that it giueth no lesse sauor than the Spike, is of the same named Spikenard. 1579 Langham Gard. Health (1633) 622 Spikenard (see Lauender). 1736 N. Bailey Household Dict. s.v., Spikenard or Lavender Spike. |
b. Valerian.
rare. (
Cf. spike n.1 5.)
| 1688 Holme Armoury ii. 89 Spicknard, or Valerian, hath leaves like the Primrose, growing in bunches, out of which comes a stalk set with jagged leaves. 1864 J. Gilbert & G. C. Churchill Dolomite Mountains 325 The Speik (Valeriana celtica) is a very small plant... You will be familiar with it as spikenard. |
c. Amer. (See
quots.)
| 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. App. 75/2 Aralia..racemosa (spikenard). 1864 Grisebach Flora Brit. W. Ind. 787/2 Spikenard, Hyptis suaveolens. |
4. ploughman's spikenard, the wild plant
Inula Conyza (formerly assigned to the genera
Baccharis and
Conyza).
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. cclxv. 648 This plant Baccharis..in English..may be called the Cinamom roote, or Plowmans Spiknarde. 1671 Phillips, Plowmans Spiknard, a sort of plant called in Latin Baccharis. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl., Baccharis,..commonly called plowman's spikenard, a sweet scented shrubby plant. Ibid. s.v. Flea Bane, The common great conyza, called Plowman's spikenard. 1777 Jacob Catal. Plants 11 Conyza squarrosa, Plowman's Spikenard. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 115 Thy horehound tufts I love them well, And ploughman's spikenard's spicy smell. 1901 Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 105/1 Fragrant ploughman's spikenard now rises. |
5. With various specific adjectives, as
American spikenard,
bastard spikenard,
Celtic spikenard,
Cretan spikenard,
false spikenard,
French spikenard,
Indian spikenard,
mountain spikenard,
small spikenard,
Syrian spikenard,
West Indian spikenard,
wild spikenard (see
quots.).
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1083/2 *American Spikenard, Aralia racemosa. |
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 327 *Bastard French Spikenard, Nardus. |
| 1693 tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Spica celtica, or Nardus celtica, *celtic Spikenard. 1718 Quincy Compl. Disp. 169 Celtick Spikenard.—This is reckon'd of kin to our Lavender, both by Family..and Virtues. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 328 Celtic Spikenard, Valeriana. |
| 1891 Cent. Dict. s.v., *Cretan spikenard, Valeriana Phu. |
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. 328 *False Spikenard, Lavandula. 1856 A. Gray Man. Bot. (1860) 467 Smilacina racemosa. False Spikenard. 1857 ― First Less. Bot. (1866) 81 A compound raceme, as in the Goat's-beard and the False Spikenard. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccccxxv. 921 Nardus Narbonensis, *French Spikenard. |
| Ibid., Nardus Indica, *Indian Spikenard. 1693 tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Nardus indica, Spica Indica, Indian Spikenard, great quantities of it grow in Java. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 327 Indian or True Spikenard. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccccxxv. 919 Nardus Celtica, *Mountaine Spikenard. Ibid., Creeping mountaine Spikenard. |
| 1831 Davies Mat. Med. 206 *Small Spikenard. False Sarsaparilla Root. Aralia nudicaulis. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Nard Syriaque, *Syrian Spikenard, Indian Spikenard. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot. 1083/2 *West Indian Spikenard, Hyptis suaveolens. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Nard rustique, *Wild Spikenard, Valerian. 1647 Hexham i. (Herbs), Assarabacke or wilde Spiknard, Hasel-wortel. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 328 Wild Spikenard, Asarum. 1866 Treas. Bot. 1083/2 Wild Spikenard, Aralia nudicaulis. |
6. oil of spikenard (see
quots.).
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Vnguentum nardinum, oyle of spikenarde. 1648 Hexham ii, Spijck-olie, Oyle of Spike, or of Spike-nard. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v., The Oil of Spikenard is a Sovereign Remedy for Sheep..incommoded with Obstructions. 1847 Royle Mat. Med. 621 A Volatile Oil [is secreted] by Andropogon Calamus aromaticus,..and several other species [of grasses]. This oil, often called Oil of Spikenard, is extremely grateful for its fragrance [etc.]. 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 699 The oil known in India as Roshé or Rosé Oil, and in London as Turkish Essence of Geranium,..is also sometimes termed oil of spikenard. |
7. attrib., as
spikenard garden,
spikenard oil.
| 1806 T. Maurice Fall Mogul ii. iv, Mild, as soft whispers of the vernal breeze That sweeps the spikenard gardens of the South. 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 699 The precious Spikenard Oil of Scripture is supposed by some to have been derived from A[ndropogon] Iwarancusa. |