bard

¹bard

noun \ˈbärd\

Definition of BARD

1

a : a tribal poet-singer skilled in composing and reciting verses on heroes and their deeds

b : a composer, singer, or declaimer of epic or heroic verse

2

: poet

— bard·ic \ˈbär-dik\ adjective

Origin of BARD

Middle English, from Scottish Gaelic & Irish

First Known Use: 15th century

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

Rhymes with BARD

barred, card, chard, Dard, fard, guard, hard, lard, nard, pard, sard, shard, yard

²bard

noun \ˈbärd\

Definition of BARD

: a piece of armor or ornament for a horse's neck, breast, or flank

Variants of BARD

bard or barde \ˈbärd\

Origin of BARD

Middle French barde, from Old Italian barda, from Arabic dialect bardʽa packsaddle, saddle cover

First Known Use: 15th century

³bard

transitive verb

Definition of BARD

1

: to furnish with bards

2

: to dress meat for cooking by covering with strips of fat

First Known Use of BARD

circa 1521

bard

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Celtic tribal poet-singer gifted in composing and reciting verses of eulogy and satire or of heroes and their deeds. The institution died out in Gaul but survived in Ireland, where bards have preserved a tradition of chanting poetic eulogy, and in Wales, where the bardic order was codified into distinct grades in the 10th century. Despite a decline in the late Middle Ages, the Welsh tradition is celebrated in the annual National Eisteddfod.