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chain fern

American

noun

any of several ferns of the genus Woodwardia, having a chainlike row of sori on either side of the midrib of each fertile leaflet.

Etymology

Origin of chain fern

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.