woodsia

[ wood-zee-uh ]

/ ˈwʊd zi ə /

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noun

any of various small ferns of the genus Woodsia, of northern temperate, alpine, and Arctic regions, having short, stout stalks, usually lance-shaped fronds, and often covered with fine hairs: common on mountains in rocky ledges and crevices.

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Origin of woodsia

From New Latin (1815), after Joseph Woods (1776–1864), English botanist; see -ia

Words nearby woodsia

wood sage, wood screw, Woodser, woodshed, wood shot, woodsia, woodsman, Wood's metal, Woodson, wood sorrel, wood spirit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use woodsia in a sentence

Usually the hairiness of the Oblong Woodsia is very pronounced.
How to Know the Ferns|S. Leonard Bastin
Where there is less moisture and more exposure we may find the Rusty Woodsia, now belying its name by its silvery aspect.
How to Know the Ferns|Frances Theodora Parsons
Always the Rusty Woodsia seems to bring me a message from that abode of solitude and silence.
How to Know the Ferns|Frances Theodora Parsons
Among the specimens of Woodsia glabella brought away were a few which I judged to belong to a different species.
How to Know the Ferns|Frances Theodora Parsons

Although the two common species of Woodsia were near at hand, Woodsia glabella was still eluding my search.
How to Know the Ferns|Frances Theodora Parsons

British Dictionary definitions for woodsia

woodsia

/ (ˈwʊdzɪə) /

noun

any small fern of the genus Woodsia, of temperate and cold regions, having tufted rhizomes and numerous wiry fronds: family Polypodiaceae

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