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quillwort

American

[kwil-wurt, -wawrt] / ˈkwɪlˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

noun

any fernlike, aquatic marsh plant of the genus Isoëtes, characterized by clustered, quill-like leaves bearing sporangia in their bases.

quillwort British

/ ˈkwɪlˌwɜːt /

noun

any aquatic tracheophyte plant of the genus Isoetes, with quill-like leaves at the bases of which are spore-producing structures: family Isoetaceae , phylum Lycopodophyta (club mosses, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of quillwort

First recorded in 1780–90; quill + wort ²

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023