bard

Everyday

1. (old) A bard was a poet and singer who told stories in verse, especially in old Celtic lands such as Wales, Ireland and Scotland. tree →
2. (literary) A bard is any poet. tree →
3. «The Bard» means William Shakespeare. tree →

In the lessons

In history, bards kept the stories and family histories of chiefs, singing them with a harp. In Wales the Eisteddfod still crowns a bard. In stories and games a bard is a musician-storyteller. People call Shakespeare «the Bard of Avon».

Examples

• The bard sang of the great deeds of the king. tree →
• Welsh bards compete at the Eisteddfod. tree →
• Shakespeare is called the Bard of Avon. tree →
• The bard played his harp by the fire. tree →
• Robert Burns is Scotland's national bard. tree →
• Toad thought himself a great bard and wrote songs about himself. tree →
• “I would wait twice as long for a poem,” said the inveterate bard. tree →

Note

Countable. Do not mix up with «barred» (blocked), which sounds the same in some accents.