fern

Definition

Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of vascular plants classified in the division Pteridophyta that lack seeds and reproduce by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.

Etymology

From Middle English fern, from Old English fearn, from Proto-West Germanic *farn, from Proto-Indo-European *pornóm (“feather, wing; fern, leaf”), from *p(t)erH- (“fern”). Cognate with Scots fairn (“fern”), West Frisian fear (“fern”), Dutch varen (“fern”), German Farn, Farm (“fern”), Luxembourgish Far (“fern”), Lithuanian spar̃nas (“wing”), Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀 (par^əna), Ashkun pār (“leaf”), Kamkata-viri por, přor, Prasuni parëg (“leaf”), Sanskrit पर्ण (parṇá, “wing”).

Example Sentences

• "Beyond here the tides are not felt, and we now entered upon a district of elevated forest, with a finer vegetation. Large trees stretch out their arms across the stream, and the steep, earthy banks are clothed with ferns and zingiberaceous plants."

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