maidenhair

[ meyd-n-hair ]

noun

any fern of the genus Adiantum, the cultivated species of which have fine, glossy stalks and delicate, finely divided fronds.

Origin of maidenhair

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at maiden, hair

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Water captured from the roof dribbles down its face, from which maidenhair ferns and philodendrons sprout.
The architect making friends with flooding | Erica Gies | December 21, 2021 | MIT Technology Review
Only think of her having some of the maidenhair and cape jessamine still in water, that we sent her so long ago.
The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
It was fed from a spring from above, which flowed down a gully thickly festooned with maidenhair fern.
A Frontier Mystery | Bertram Mitford
Some trailing maidenhair escaping from the paper caught in her dress, and broke off.
The Devourers | Annie Vivanti Chartres
She decided that it was the flat, where the bunch of orchids and maidenhair had come and lived almost a week.
The Devourers | Annie Vivanti Chartres

Adiantum, ad-i-an′tum, n. maidenhair, a large genus of ferns.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) | Various

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