fern : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: fern	by the DICT Development Group
4 results for fern
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
fern n any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fern \Fern\, n. [AS. fearn; akin to D. varen, G. farn, farnkraut; cf. Skr. par[c9]a wing, feather, leaf, sort of plant, or Lith. papartis fern.] (Bot.) An order of cryptogamous plants, the {Filices}, which have their fructification on the back of the fronds or leaves. They are usually found in humid soil, sometimes grow epiphytically on trees, and in tropical climates often attain a gigantic size. Note: The plants are asexual, and bear clustered sporangia, containing minute spores, which germinate and form prothalli, on which are borne the true organs of reproduction. The brake or bracken, the maidenhair, and the polypody are all well known ferns. {Christmas fern}. See under {Christmas}. {Climbing fern} (Bot.), a delicate North American fern ({Lygodium palmatum}), which climbs several feet high over bushes, etc., and is much sought for purposes of decoration. {Fern owl}. (Zo[94]l.) (a) The European goatsucker. (b) The short-eared owl. [Prov. Eng.] -- {Fern shaw}, a fern thicket. [Eng.] --R. Browning.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fern \Fern\, adv. Long ago. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fern \Fern\, a. [AS. fyrn.] Ancient; old. [Obs.] [bd]Pilgrimages to . . . ferne halwes.[b8] [saints]. --Chaucer.