What does FERN mean?

Definitions for FERN
fɜrnfern

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word FERN.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. fernnoun

    any of numerous flowerless and seedless vascular plants having true roots from a rhizome and fronds that uncurl upward; reproduce by spores

Wiktionary

  1. fernnoun

    Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of vascular plants classified in the Division Pteridophyta (formerly known by some as Filicophyta) that lacks seeds and reproduces by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.

  2. Fernnoun

    from the fern plant.

  3. Etymology: From fearn, from farnan (cf. Dutch varen, German Farn), from pornóm 'wing, feather' (cf. Lithuanian sparnas, Albanian fier 'fern', Avestan parəna, Sanskrit), from *per- 'feather' (cf. Tocharian B parwa, Old Church Slavonic).

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. FERNnoun

    A plant.

    Etymology: fearn, Saxon.

    The male fern is common on the stumps of trees in woods, and on the banks of ditches: the leaves are formed of a number of small pinnules, dentated on the edges, and set close by one another on slender ribs. On the back of these pinnules are produced the seeds, small and extremely numerous. Decoctions of the root and diet drinks have been used in chronick disorders and obstructions. The country people esteem it a sovereign remedy for the rickets in children. Hill.

    Black was the forest, thick with beech it stood,
    Horrid with fern, and intricate with thorn;
    Few paths of human feet or tracks of beasts were worn. John Dryden, Æneid.

    There are great varieties of fern in different parts of the world; but they are seldom cultivated in gardens. Philip Miller.

Wikipedia

  1. FERN

    Fern (also Stichting Fern) is a Dutch foundation created in 1995. It is an international Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) set up to keep track of the European Union's involvement in forests and coordinate NGO activities at the European level. Fern works to protect forests and the rights of people who depend on them.Although Fern is known for its work on forests, since 2000 it has widened its scope to include climate, forest governance, trade and sustainable supply chain as many of the decisions made in these areas have a direct or indirect impact on forests and forest peoples' rights. In all these areas, Fern collaborates with many environmental groups and social movements across the world. Fern is a non-hierarchical flat organization. Currently, it has four offices (Delft, the Netherlands; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; and Moreton-in-Marsh, UK) and around 18 staff. Fern's official mission statement is "We identify the threats facing the world's forests, and work with affected peoples, social and environmental organisations and policy makers to devise and deliver solutions where the EU can make a difference."

ChatGPT

  1. fern

    A fern is a type of non-flowering plant belonging to the group Pteridophyta that primarily reproduces through spores. Ferns have complex leaves called fronds which are usually coiled up when they are young and unroll as they mature. They are ancient plants, existing millions of years before the emergence of dinosaurs, and can be found in various environments including deserts, mountains, water bodies, and rain forests. They do not have seeds or flowers.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Fernadverb

    long ago

  2. Fernadjective

    ancient; old. [Obs.] "Pilgrimages to . . . ferne halwes." [saints]

  3. Fernnoun

    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

  4. Etymology: [AS. fyrn.]

Wikidata

  1. Fern

    A fern is any one or more of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem. They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants. Ferns reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. Most ferns have what are called fiddleheads. The fiddleheads expand into what are called fronds, which are each delicately divided. By far the largest group of ferns is the leptosporangiate ferns, but ferns as defined here include horsetails, whisk ferns, marattioid ferns, and ophioglossoid ferns. The term pteridophyte also refers to ferns and a few other seedless vascular plants. Ferns first appear in the fossil record 360 million years ago in the Carboniferous but many of the current families and species did not appear until roughly 145 million years ago in the early Cretaceous. Ferns are not of major economic importance, but some are grown or gathered for food, as ornamental plants, for remediating contaminated soils, and have been the subject of research for their ability to remove some chemical pollutants from the air. Some are significant weeds. They also play a role in mythology, medicine, and art.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Fern

    fern, n. one of the beautiful class of higher or vascular cryptogamous plants—the natural order Filices.—ns. Fern′ery, a place for rearing ferns; Fern′-owl, the European goatsucker or night-jar; Fern′-seed, the spores of ferns, which, properly gathered, render the bearers invisible; Fern′shaw, a thicket of ferns; Fern′ticle, a freckle.—adjs. Fern′ticled; Fern′y. [A.S. fearn; Ger. farn.]

Editors Contribution

  1. fern

    A type of plant created and cultivated in various species.

    Fern are used in bouquets of flowers and grow in the wild also.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 3, 2017  

Suggested Resources

  1. FERN

    What does FERN stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the FERN acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. FERN

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Fern is ranked #12491 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Fern surname appeared 2,482 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Fern.

    88.3% or 2,193 total occurrences were White.
    6.4% or 160 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    2.5% or 62 total occurrences were Asian.
    1.5% or 38 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.8% or 20 total occurrences were Black.
    0.3% or 9 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

How to pronounce FERN?

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of FERN in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of FERN in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of FERN in a Sentence

  1. Daniel Field:

    It may have taken on the order of 100 years for the' fern spike' to begin, and about 1,000 years for forest communities to rebound, once forests were back, the ancestors of today's modern tree-dwelling birds could -- and did -- move into the trees. By a couple of millions of years after the asteroid impact, we have direct evidence of arboreal fossil birds.

  2. Heather Vincent:

    During the past couple of weeks, theyve since started showing real signs of affection for each other. As Fern isnt in heat at the moment, we cant put it down to lust! So consequently, we think its genuine love and that gave us an idea, i remarked to Chris: Wouldnt it be funny if they got married, considering theres no weddings going on?

  3. Heather Vincent:

    During the past couple of weeks, they’ve since started showing real signs of affection for each other. As Fern isn’t in heat at the moment, we can’t put it down to lust.

  4. Heather Vincent:

    With the necessities of social distancing meaning fewer people having to look after more horses, Lewis and Fern have spent more time together than usual, during the past couple of weeks, they’ve since started showing real signs of affection for each other. As Fern isn’t in heat at the moment, we can’t put it down to lust.

  5. David Greenwood:

    The discovery of charcoal together with a fern-filled stomach opens a window into the biology of this large herbivorous armoured dinosaur as it suggested Borealopelta was likely a keystone herbivore that shaped the landscape by its grazing, and that it also grazed on the ferns growing in open areas created by wildfires, that is so cool.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for FERN

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"FERN." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/FERN>.

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