'Male fern' definitions:
Definition of 'male fern'
From: WordNet
noun
Fern of North America and Europe whose rhizomes and stalks yield an oleoresin used to expel tapeworms [syn: male fern, Dryopteris filix-mas]
Definition of 'Male fern'
From: GCIDE
- Male \Male\, a. [F. m[^a]le, OF. masle, mascle, fr. L. masculus male, masculine, dim. of mas a male; possibly akin to E. man. Cf. Masculine, Marry, v. t.]
- 1. Of or pertaining to the sex that begets or procreates young, or (in a wider sense) to the sex that produces spermatozoa, by which the ova are fertilized; not female; as, male organs. [1913 Webster]
- 2. (Bot.) Capable of producing fertilization, but not of bearing fruit; -- said of stamens and antheridia, and of the plants, or parts of plants, which bear them. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage. [1913 Webster]
- 4. Consisting of males; as, a male choir. [1913 Webster]
- 5. (Mech.) Adapted for entering another corresponding piece (the female piece) which is hollow and which it fits; as, a male gauge, for gauging the size or shape of a hole; a male screw, etc. [1913 Webster]
- Male fern (Bot.), a fern of the genus Aspidium ({Aspidium Filixmas}), used in medicine as an anthelmintic, esp. against the tapeworm. Aspidium marginale in America, and Aspidium athamanticum in South Africa, are used as good substitutes for the male fern in medical practice. See Female fern, under Female.
- Male rhyme, a rhyme in which only the last syllables agree, as laid, afraid, dismayed. See Female rhyme, under Female.
- Male screw (Mech.), a screw having threads upon its exterior which enter the grooves upon the inside of a corresponding nut or female screw.
- Male thread, the thread of a male screw. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'male fern'
From: GCIDE
- male fern \male fern\ n. A fern of North America and Europe (Dryopteris filix-mas) whose rhizomes and stalks yield an oleoresin used to expel tapeworms. It is a member of the woodfern genus. [WordNet 1.5]