nardusn.

Etymology: < classical Latin nardus (feminine; also nardum, neuter) the plant nard, a fragrant oil prepared from this plant < Hellenistic Greek νάρδος (feminine; also νάρδον , neuter) the plant nard, a fragrant oil prepared from this plant, perhaps ultimately < Sanskrit nalada , narada the plant nard (see note). Compare Dutch nardus . Compare also nard n.The route by which the word reached ancient Greek is unclear. It is not of Semitic origin (since it occurs neither in Akkadian nor Arabic), but it is probable that the ancient Greek form was borrowed from a Semitic intermediary. The first vowel of the Greek word might suggest a loan from Syriac nardā , nardī , though this is late and may have been influenced by Greek; earlier Semitic forms include Hebrew nērd and Aramaic nirdā , and since the word occurs in the Hebrew Bible, it may have entered Greek through its use in the Septuagint. Compare also Persian nārdīn . Sanskrit narada is applied to plants of the genus Cymbopogon rather than Nardostachys. Compare:1908 G. Watt Commercial Products India 461 When dealing with the Western Panjáb, Sind, Baluchistan and Persia, the plant in question [sc. the nard of the early explorers of India] may be accepted as C. Schoenanthus, Linn., but when dealing with the Eastern Panjáb and the United Provinces, it is in all probability..C. Jwarancusa Schult. Also occasionally used with Latin case inflections (compare quot. OE² at sense 1).