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

Whether they are three, or thretty, or a hunder, surpasses my knowledge; but they hae got the secret o’ the fern seed, and walk about invisible.

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 4 by Various

My, my, I was forgetting all about the children and the mysterious fern seed.

From The White Christmas and other Merry Christmas Plays by Hare, Walter Ben

She sat rocking herself to and fro in her sorrow, while the old woman threw the fern seed, picked, alas! too late, into the driftwood fire.

From A Fortunate Term by Brazil, Angela

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

From A Fortunate Term by Brazil, Angela

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