Skip to the word

Added 10 October 2026

spikenard

/ˈspaɪknɑː(ɹ)d/ noun

Latin root: spīca Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about spikenard at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

An aromatic ointment used in antiquity.

Origin

From Middle English spikenard, spikenarde, from Anglo-Norman spicanarde, from Medieval Latin spīca nardī, from Latin spica (“spike”) + nardi (“nard”). Equivalent to spike + nard.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word