%fern%

n. a fern of New Zealand (Leptopteris superba) with pinnate fronds and a densely woolly stalks; sometimes included in genus Todea.
Syn. -- crape fern, Prince-of-Wales fern, Prince-of-Wales feather, Prince-of-Wales plume, Leptopteris superba, Todea superba. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. Long ago. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. fyrn. ] Ancient; old. [ Obs. ] “Pilgrimages to . . . ferne halwes.” [ saints ]. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. 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. (Zool.) (a) The European goatsucker. (b) The short-eared owl. [ Prov. Eng. ] --
Fern shaw, a fern thicket. [ Eng. ] R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. abounding in or covered with ferns. [ Narrower terms: braky ] fernless
Syn. -- ferny. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. A place for rearing ferns. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. devoid of ferns. Opposite of ferned. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. resembling ferns especially in leaf shape; as, the fernlike shadows of locust leaves.
Syn. -- ferny. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. A freckle on the skin, resembling the seed of fern. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Abounding in ferns. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. resembling a fern; fernlike. [ PJC ]

n. (Bot.) A species of fern (Lomaria borealis), growing in Europe and Northwestern America. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Bot.) A species of fern (Davallia Canariensis) with a soft, gray, hairy rootstock; -- whence the name. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. infernal, L. infernalis, fr. infernus that which lies beneath, the lower. See Inferior. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Of or pertaining to or suitable for the lower regions, inhabited, according to the ancients, by the dead; pertaining to Pluto's realm of the dead, the Tartarus of the ancients. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Elysian fields, the infernal monarchy. Garth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of or pertaining to, resembling, or inhabiting, hell; suitable for hell, or to the character of the inhabitants of hell; hellish; diabolical; as, infernal spirits, or conduct. [ 1913 Webster ]

The instruments or abettors in such infernal dealings. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Infernal machine, a machine or apparatus maliciously designed to explode, and destroy life or property. --
Infernal stone (lapis infernalis), lunar caustic; formerly so called. The name was also applied to caustic potash.

Syn. -- Tartarean; Stygian; hellish; devilish; diabolical; satanic; fiendish; malicious. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An inhabitant of the infernal regions; also, the place itself. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an infernal manner; diabolically. “Infernally false.” Bp. Hacket. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ It. See Infernal. ] 1. The infernal regions; hell. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. Hence: A raging fire. [ PJC ]

At each sudden explosion in the inferno below they sprang back from the brink [ of the volcanic crater ]. D. C. Worcester. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

‖n. [ G. See Copper, and Nickel. ] (Min.) Copper-nickel; niccolite. See Niccolite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) any of various terrestrial ferns of the genus Cheilanthes; they are cosmopolitan in arid and semi-arid temperate or tropical regions. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. See maidenhair. [ PJC ]

n. (Bot.) Any of various small to large terrestrial ferns of the genus Adiantum having very slender graceful stalks and delicate palmately branched fronds, especially (Adiantum pedatum). It is common in the United States, and is sometimes used in medicine. The name is also applied to other species of the same genus, as to the Venus-hair. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fern of North America and Europe (Dryopteris filix-mas) whose rhizomes and stalks yield an oleoresin used to expel tapeworms. It is a member of the woodfern genus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

(Zool.) Any gorgonian which branches like a fern. [ 1913 Webster ]