fern


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fern

 (fûrn)
n.
Any of numerous flowerless, seedless vascular plants that produce spores giving rise to free-living gametophytes and that often have dissected leaves.

[Middle English, from Old English fearn; see per- in Indo-European roots.]

fern′y adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fern

(fɜːn)
n
1. (Plants) any tracheophyte plant of the phylum Filicinophyta, having roots, stems, and fronds and reproducing by spores formed in structures (sori) on the fronds. See also tree fern
2. (Plants) any of certain similar but unrelated plants, such as the sweet fern
[Old English fearn; related to Old High German farn, Sanskrit parná leaf]
ˈfernˌlike adj
ˈferny adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

fern

(fɜrn)

n.
a nonflowering vascular plant of the class Filicinae, having fronds and reproducing by spores.
[before 900; Middle English ferne, Old English fearn; c. Middle Dutch væren, Old High German farn fern, Skt parná feather]
fern′like`, adj.
fern′y, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

fern

(fûrn)
Any of numerous seedless plants usually having feathery fronds divided into many leaflets. Ferns have vascular tissue like plants that bear seeds but reproduce by means of spores.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Fern

 a huge quantity or number, 1300.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.fern - any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upwardfern - any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
pecopteris - Carboniferous fossil fern characterized by a regular arrangement of the leaflets resembling a comb
nonflowering plant, pteridophyte - plants having vascular tissue and reproducing by spores
fern seed - the asexual spore of ferns that resembles dust; once thought to be seeds and to make the possessor invisible
film fern, filmy fern - any fern of the genus Hymenophyllum growing in tropical humid regions and having translucent leaves
bristle fern, filmy fern - any fern of the genus Trichomanes having large pinnatifid often translucent fronds; most are epiphytic on tree branches and twigs or terrestrial on mossy banks
osmund, flowering fern - any fern of the genus Osmunda: large ferns with creeping rhizomes; naked sporangia are on modified fronds that resemble flower clusters
crape fern, Leptopteris superba, Prince-of-Wales feather, Prince-of-Wales fern, Prince-of-Wales plume, Todea superba - New Zealand with pinnate fronds and a densely woolly stalks; sometimes included in genus Todea
crepe fern, king fern, Todea barbara - fern of rain forests of tropical Australia and New Zealand and South Africa
curly grass, curly grass fern, Schizaea pusilla - rare small fern of northeastern North America having numerous slender spiraling fronds and forming dense tufts
Anemia adiantifolia, pine fern - fern of Florida and West Indies and Central America with rhizome densely clad in grown hairs
climbing fern - any of several ferns of the genus Lygodium that climb by twining
Mohria caffrorum, scented fern - sweetly scented African fern with narrow bipinnate fronds
aquatic fern, water fern - ferns that grow in water
adder's tongue, adder's tongue fern - ferns with fertile spikes shaped like a snake's tongue
grape fern - a fern of the genus Botrychium having a fertile frond bearing small grapelike clusters of spore cases
flowering fern, Helminthostachys zeylanica - Australasian fern with clusters of sporangia on stems of fertile fronds
Diplopterygium longissimum, giant scrambling fern - large scrambling fern forming large patches to 18 feet high; Pacific region and China
fan fern, Gleichenia flabellata, Sticherus flabellatus, umbrella fern - large Australasian fern with fanlike repeatedly forked fronds; sometimes placed in genus Gleichenia
polypody - any of numerous ferns of the genus Polypodium
Aglaomorpha meyeniana, bear's-paw fern - epiphytic fern with large fronds; Taiwan and Philippines
strap fern - fern with long narrow strap-shaped leaves
Drynaria rigidula, basket fern - giant epiphytic or lithophytic fern; Asia to Polynesia and Australia
lecanopteris - any of several bizarre ferns of the genus Lecanopteris having swollen hollow rhizomes that provide homes for symbiotic ants
Microgramma-piloselloides, snake polypody - epiphytic ferns with long rhizomes; tropical America
climbing bird's nest fern, Microsorium punctatum - tropical Africa to Australasia and Polynesia
golden polypody, Phlebodium aureum, Polypodium aureum, rabbit's-foot fern, serpent fern - tropical American fern with brown scaly rhizomes cultivated for its large deeply lobed deep bluish-green fronds; sometimes placed in genus Polypodium
staghorn fern - any of various tropical ferns of the genus Platycerium having large flat lobed fronds often resembling the antlers of a stag
Cyclophorus lingua, felt fern, Pyrrosia lingua, tongue fern - east Asian fern having fronds shaped like tongues; sometimes placed in genus Cyclophorus
Solanopteris bifrons, potato fern - small epiphytic fern of South America with tuberous swellings along rhizomes
grass fern, Vittaria lineata, ribbon fern - epiphytic fern found in lowland forests of tropical America
spleenwort - any of various chiefly rock-inhabiting ferns of the genus Asplenium
Asplenium nidus, bird's nest fern - tropical Old World or Australian epiphytic fern frequently forming tufts in tree crotches
Asplenium scolopendrium, Phyllitis scolopendrium, hart's-tongue, hart's-tongue fern - Eurasian fern with simple lanceolate fronds
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

fern

noun

Ferns

adder's-tongue, bladder fern, beech fern, bracken, buckler fern, hard fern, hart's-tongue, lady fern, maidenhair, male fern, marsh fern, moonwort, oak fern, parsley fern, pillwort, rock brake, royal fern, shield fern, sword fern, tree fern, Venus's-hair, walking fern, wall rue, woodsia
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
Translations
سَرْخَسسَرْخَس، خِنْشار
kapradina
bregne
saniainen
paprat
páfrány
burkni
しだ
고사리
filix
papartis
paparde
paprat
ormbunke
ต้นเฟิร์น
eğreltieğrelti otu
dương xỉ

fern

[fɜːn] Nhelecho m
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

fern

[ˈfɜːrn] n (= plant) → fougère f
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

fern

nFarn (→ kraut nt) m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

fern

[fɜːn] nfelce f
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

fern

(fəːn) noun
a kind of plant with no flowers and delicate feather-like leaves.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

fern

سَرْخَس kapradina bregne Farnkraut φτέρη helecho saniainen fougère paprat felce シダ 고사리 varen bregne paproć feto, samambaia папоротник ormbunke ต้นเฟิร์น eğrelti otu dương xỉ
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in classic literature ?
In New Zealand, before the introduction of the potato, the roots of the fern were largely consumed; at the present time, I believe, Tierra del Fuego is the only country in the world where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food.
'My lady, the Alderman is so obliging as to remind me that he has had "the distinguished honour"--he is very good--of meeting me at the house of our mutual friend Deedles, the banker; and he does me the favour to inquire whether it will be agreeable to me to have Will Fern put down.'
How relieved she was when she had got safely under the oaks and among the fern of the Chase!
The next thing she did, however, was to stoop straight down and pluck--quite as if it were all she was there for--a big, ugly spray of withered fern. I instantly became sure she had just come out of the copse.
The fern fronds he had stood between came swishing together,
Sweet Fern has learned to read and write, and has put on a jacket and pair of pantaloons--all of which improvements I am sorry for.
She had discovered that a lane opened out below the apple orchard and ran up through a belt of woodland; and she had explored it to its furthest end in all its delicious vagaries of brook and bridge, fir coppice and wild cherry arch, corners thick with fern, and branching byways of maple and mountain ash.
Next I saw the ferns agitated by the passage of the body.
On the steep incline above the spring grew tiny maidenhair ferns, while higher up were larger ferns and brakes.
And, for Jerry, most delightful of all, there was the gurgle and plash of a brooklet that pursued its invisible way over mossy stones under a garmenture of tender and delicate ferns. No conservatory of a king could compare with this wild wantonness of sun-generous vegetation.
When D'Arnot regained consciousness, he found himself lying upon a bed of soft ferns and grasses beneath a little "A" shaped shelter of boughs.
Clumps of strange trees dotted the landscape here and there almost to the water, and rank grass and ferns grew between.