n. [ AS. fearn; akin to D. varen, G. farn, farnkraut; cf. Skr. par&nsdot_;a wing, feather, leaf, sort of plant, or Lith. papartis fern. ] (Bot.) An order of cryptogamous plants, the
☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]
Christmas fern.
Climbing fern (Bot.),
Fern owl. (Zool.)
Fern shaw
adv. Long ago. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. [ AS. fyrn. ] Ancient; old. [ Obs. ] “Pilgrimages to . . . ferne halwes.” [ saints ]. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]
adj. abounding in or covered with ferns. [ Narrower terms:
n. A place for rearing ferns. [ 1913 Webster ]
adj. devoid of ferns. Opposite of
adj. resembling ferns especially in leaf shape;
n. A freckle on the skin, resembling the seed of fern. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]
a.