Bernard

//bəɹˈnɑɹd// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Shortened form of Saint Bernard (the dog).
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A male given name from the Germanic languages.

    "A similar arrangement was made for her son Bernard, named in honor of the great Carthusian mystic (at least, that is what Jim Gaffney would softly tell Mrs. Kozinski) and of Bernie Astor, the publicist."

  2. 2
    A surname originating as a patronymic.

Synonyms

All synonyms
claude bernard

Example

More examples

"I happened upon Bernard at a restaurant yesterday."

Etymology

From Middle English Bernard, from Old French Bernard, Bernart, from Medieval Latin Bernardus, probably from Frankish *Bernhard (compare Old High German Bernhart, Old English Beornheard), from Proto-Germanic *Bernuharduz, equivalent to bear + -ard. Popularized by medieval European saints.

Related phrases

saint bernard

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.