male fern

American  

noun

1. a bright-green fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, of Europe and northeastern North America.

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male fern British  

noun

1. a fern, Dryopteris filix-mas, having scaly stalks and pinnate fronds with kidney-shaped spore-producing bodies on the underside: family Polypodiaceae

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Etymology

Origin of male fern

First recorded in 1555–65

Example Sentences

Powdered male fern, a quarter of an ounce.

From The American Reformed Cattle Doctor by Dadd, George

The extract of male fern used should have a guaranteed strength of 22 to 25 per cent of filicine and 3.5 per cent of filicic acid.

From Special Report on Diseases of Cattle by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry

The liquid extract of male fern is the only drug used with much success.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

Often, about the same spots where the male fern flourishes, the Shield Fern displays its fronds, larger and broader, but fewer in number, and prettily toothed along their edges.

From Chatterbox, 1905. by Various

As a rule the male fern acts promptly and well.

From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson