Definition of "spikenard" []

• An aromatic perennial herb (Nardostachys jatamansi) of the Himalaya Mountains, having rose-purple flowers. Also called nard. (noun)
• An ointment of antiquity, probably prepared from this aromatic plant. (noun)
• A North American plant (Aralia racemosa) having small greenish flowers, aromatic roots, and bipinnately compound leaves. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The spikenard is a lowly herb, the emblem of humility."
• "In another incident the hapless Judas Iscariot questions why Jesus has expensive ointment (a pound of "spikenard" worth 300 denarii, or a year's wages) rubbed on his feet (and wiped off with a woman's hair!)."
• "In the garden grow "an orchard of pomegranates . . . spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense"."