Meaning & use
spikenard
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Meanings
noununcountable
A rare, sweet-smelling oil made from the roots of a mountain plant of the Himalayas, used long ago in perfume and as a costly ointment.
Grammar: Uncountable when it means the oil: a jar of spikenard.
Patterns
- oil of spikenard
- a jar of spikenard
In the story, a woman poured costly spikenard over the guest's feet.
Ancient traders carried spikenard across mountain passes to sell it as perfume.
The museum displayed a small alabaster jar once used for spikenard.
nouncountable or uncountablebiology
The plant that the perfumed oil comes from, a small flowering herb with a strong-smelling root.
Grammar: Can be counted when meaning the plant: a spikenard grows high in the mountains.
The spikenard grows on high, cool slopes and is now rare.
Gardeners in the region once harvested wild spikenard for its roots.
Common combinations
- oil of spikenard
- The oil of spikenard was worth more than a year's wages.
- jar of spikenard
- She broke a jar of spikenard in the story.
- fragrance of spikenard
- The fragrance of spikenard filled the room.
- precious spikenard
- Precious spikenard was rarely used by ordinary people.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: spikenard or lavender?
spikenard vs lavender
Lavender is a common sweet-smelling plant sold today, while spikenard is a rare mountain herb known mostly from ancient texts.
Practice
In the old story, the woman anointed his feet with ____, an expensive perfumed oil.
Choose one answer.
Spikenard is the costly perfumed oil made from a Himalayan plant. The other liquids are not perfumes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spikenard”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.