fiddlehead

[fid-l-hed]

noun

1. Nautical.,  a billethead having a form similar to the volute carved at the upper end of a violin.

2. the young, coiled frond of various species of ferns, eaten as a vegetable.

fiddlehead

/ ˈfɪdəlˌhɛd /

noun

1. nautical an ornamental carving, in the shape of the scroll at the head end of a fiddle, fitted to the top of the stem or cutwater

2. the edible coiled tip of a young fern frond

Word History and Origins

Origin of fiddlehead¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; fiddle + head

Example Sentences

Only after Penelope had mastered saying “unfurled fern fronds,” tasted the fiddleheads Philippe, and admitted that they were beyond her wildest imaginings of deliciousness, did Miss Mortimer begin to answer her questions.

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Spring specialties: garlic scapes, pea shoots, ramps, fiddlehead ferns, English peas, fava beans.

Read more on Salon

So it’s like: Push yourself a little bit, to sea urchin, to fiddleheads.

Read more on Seattle Times

They are also great sauteed in a pan with fiddleheads, the unopened foliage of the ostrich fern, whose season is approaching.

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Ms. Mori’s creations look like chimerical species — hybrids of barnacles and cumulus clouds, a baobab and a weeping willow, a waterlily and fiddlehead ferns, sea urchin spines and a swarm of starlings.

Read more on New York Times