ferny

[ fur-nee ]

/ ˈfɜr ni /

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pertaining to, consisting of, or like ferns: ferny leaves.

abounding in or overgrown with ferns: ferny undergrowth.

QUIZZES

Set some time apart to test your bracket symbol knowledge, and see if you can keep your parentheses, squares, curlies, and angles all straight!

Question 1 of 7

Let’s start with some etymology: What are the origins of the typographical word “bracket”?

First recorded in 1515–25; fern + -y¹

The orchard ran down a slope of perhaps half an acre to the ferny tangle of the brook bed.
The Idyl of Twin Fires|Walter Prichard Eaton
A boy pushed the bracken and ferny grey and green wattle sprays from before a lichen-grown wooden cross.
The Pioneers|Katharine Susannah Prichard
The climb was steep, rounding a darkened ferny shoulder of lush forest, yet promising more and more a top of sunlight.
Lazarre|Mary Hartwell Catherwood
But she liked the beauty of the little dell, the ferny smell of it, and the sunshine and cheerfulness.
The Camerons of Highboro|Beth B. Gilchrist

Fashion me from swamp or meadow, Garden plot or ferny shadow, Hyacinth or humble burr!
Songs from Vagabondia|Bliss Carman and Richard Hovey