fern seed

American  

noun

1. the spores of ferns, formerly supposed to have the power to make persons invisible.

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fern seed British  

noun

1. the minute particles by which ferns reproduce themselves, formerly thought to be invisible. Possession of them was thought to make a person invisible

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Etymology

Origin of fern seed

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fern seed

The last, by endowing Value with the gift of fern seed and enabling it to walk invisible, turned the flank of the baronial tariff-system and made the roads safe for the great liberalizer Commerce.

From Among My Books Second Series by Lowell, James Russell

John, I remember, always carried some fern seed in his trouser-pocket.

From Olivia in India by Douglas, O.

Coral, rhinoceros-horn, fern seed, the mandrake, &c., were likewise connected with the moon-goddess and credited with nocturnal luminosity.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia Volume 4, Part 1: Deposition to Eberswalde by Various

I'll gather some fern seed and drop it in the cradle.

From A Fortunate Term by Brazil, Angela

So Shakespeare has it, too, in his play of "1 Henry IV.," act ii. scene 1: "We have the receipt of fern seed, we walk invisible."

From The South Isles of Aran by Burke, Oliver J.