-ard

-ard

a suffix forming nouns that denote persons who regularly engage in an activity, or who are characterized in a certain way, as indicated by the stem; now usually pejorative: coward; dullard; drunkard; wizard.
Also, -art.


Origin:
Middle English < Old French, probably extracted from Frankish compound personal names; compare Old High German Adalhart (French Alard), Bernhart (French Bernard), with 2nd element -hart literally, strong, hardy, hard (cognate with Old English -heard in names), often merely as intensifier of quality denoted in 1st element.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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-ard is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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World English Dictionary
-ard or -art
 
suffix forming nouns
indicating a person who does something, esp to excess, or is characterized by a certain quality: braggart; drunkard; dullard
 
[via Old French from Germanic -hard (literally: hardy, bold), the final element in many Germanic masculine names, such as Bernhard Bernard, Gerhart Gerard, etc]
 
-art or -art
 
suffix forming nouns
 
[via Old French from Germanic -hard (literally: hardy, bold), the final element in many Germanic masculine names, such as Bernhard Bernard, Gerhart Gerard, etc]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

-ard
also -art, from O.Fr. -ard, -art, from Ger. -hard, -hart "hardy," often forming the second element in personal names, used as an intensifier, but in M.H.G. and Du. used as a pejorative element in common nouns, and thus passing into M.E. in bastard,
coward, etc. It thus became a living element in English, e.g. buzzard, drunkard.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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