# fern
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English fern, from Old English fearn, from Proto-West Germanic *farn, from Proto-Indo-European *pornóm (“feather, wing; fern, leaf”), from *p(t)erH- (“fern”).
Cognate with West Frisian fear, Dutch varen, German Farn, Lithuanian spar̃nas, Avestan 𐬞𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀 (par$^ə$na), Ashkun pār, Kamkata-viri por, přor, Prasuni parëg, Sanskrit पर्ण (parṇá).

### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /fɜːn/
* (General American, Canada) IPA: /fɝn/
** Audio (US):(file)
* (General Australian) IPA: /fɜːn/, [fɘːn]
* (Early Modern) IPA: /fɛːrn/, /fɛrn/
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n

### Noun

fern (plural ferns)
* Any of a group of some twenty thousand species of vascular plants classified in the division Pteridophyta that lack seeds and reproduce by shedding spores to initiate an alternation of generations.

#### Synonyms

* (Pteridophyta): Filicophyta (archaic)

#### Derived terms

* adder's fern (Polypodium vulgare, Ophioglossum spp.)
* air fern (hydrozoan skeletons)
* Alice's fern (Lygodium palmatum)
* American climbing fern (Lygodium palmatum)
* artillery fern
* asparagus fern (in genus Asparagus)
* ball fern
* bamboo fern
* Barnsley fern
* basket fern
* bead fern
* bird's-nest fern
* bladder fern
* Boston fern
* buckler fern
* chain fern
* Christmas fern
* cinnamon fern
* climbing fern
* climbing maidenhair fern
* cloak fern (Notholaena spp.)
* coral fern (Gleichenia spp.)
* duckweed fern (Azolla spp.)
* evergreen wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis, Polystichum acrostichoides)
* fern ally
* fernane
* fern bar
* fernbird
* fernbrake
* fern bush (Chamaebatiaria millefolium)
* fern cake
* Ferndale
* ferndom
* ferned
* fernene
* fernery
* fern house
* ferning
* fernland
* fern-leaf
* fernless
* fernlike
* fernowl
* fern pine
* fernroot
* fernseed
* fern seed
* fernshaw
* Fernside
* ferny
* filmy fern
* grape fern
* hardfern
* hard fern
* hare's-foot fern
* Hartford fern (Lygodium palmatum)
* hay-scented fern
* horseshoe fern
* ice fern
* Japanese climbing fern (Lygodium japonicum)
* king fern (Ptisana salicina, Todea barbara)
* lady fern
* leatherleaf fern
* lip fern
* maidenhair fern
* male fern
* man fern
* mosquito fern (Azolla spp.)
* nanofern
* netted chain fern
* New York fern (Parathelypteris noveboracensis)
* nonfern
* northern lady fern
* oak fern
* ostrich fern
* parsley fern (Cryptogramma crispa)
* rabbit's-foot fern
* rattlesnake fern
* royal fern (Osmunda regalis, Osmunda spectabilis)
* seed fern (Pteridospermatophyta spp.)
* sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
* shield fern
* silver fern
* staghorn fern
* sweet fern
* sweetfern (in genus Comptonia)
* sword fern
* Tara fern
* tree fern
* umbrella fern (Sticherus spp.)
* vegetable fern
* Venus hair fern
* walking fern
* water fern (Azolla spp.)
* whisk fern
* wig tree fern
* Wilson's filmy fern
* woodfern
* wood fern

#### See also

* bracken

### References

* ↑ Dobson, E. J. (1957) English pronunciation 1500-1700‎, second edition, volume II: Phonology, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1968, →OCLC, § 8, page 472: “Fern is recorded with ĕ by Levins (beside ę̄), Gil (1621 edition), Poole, Coles, and Brown; with ę̄ by Levins (beside ĕ) and Gil (1619 edition).”.

### Further reading

* fern on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

### Anagrams

* fren', nerf, fren, NeRF

## German
### Etymology

From Old High German ferrana.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛʁn/
* Audio:(file)
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛʁn

### Adjective

fern (strong nominative masculine singular ferner, comparative ferner, superlative am fernsten)
* remote
* far away

#### Derived terms

* fernsehen
* gegenwartsfern
* gesellschaftsfern
* lösungsfern
* marktfern
* menschenfern
* realitätssfern
* wirklichkeitsfern
* zukunftsfern

#### Related terms

* fern liegen
* Ferne
* Fernglas
* Fernheizung
* Fernrohr
* Fernsehen
* Fernsicht
* Fernstrom
* Fernstudium
* Fernuniversität
* Fernunterricht
* Fernverkehr
* Fernwärme
* Fernwasserleitung
* Fernweh
* Fernwirkung
* Fernzug

### Preposition

fern [with genitive; or with dative]
* (higher register) far away from something
    Fern des Landes / dem Land, in dem sie geboren wurdeFar away from the land in which she was born

### Further reading

* “fern (adjective)” in Duden online
* “fern (preposition)” in Duden online
* “fern” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

## Icelandic
### Etymology

From the root fer-. Compare tvennur, þrennur.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛrtn/
* Rhymes: -ɛrtn

### Adjective

fern
* four (used when counting singular nouns, pluralia tantum or groupings (especially pairs) of items, or when the item counted is missing from the sentence or separated by the preposition af (“of”))
    fernir skór ― four pairs of shoes
    fernir tónleikar ― four concerts [tónleikar is plurale tantum]
    Þetta má gera á fernan hátt. ― This can be done in four ways. [háttur cannot be used in its plural form in this sense]
    Það er fernt sem mig vantar. ― There are four [things] that I need. [noun omitted]
    Ég vil fá fernt af öllu. ― I want four of everything.

#### Derived terms

* ferna

#### Related terms

* fer-
* fjórir
* tvennur
* þrennur

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* vern, fearn, farn, varn, firn

### Etymology

From Old English fearn, from Proto-West Germanic *farn.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /fɛːrn/, /fɛrn/

### Noun

fern (plural ferns)
* fern

#### Derived terms

* ferny

#### Descendants

* English: fern
* Scots: farne, fairn
* Yola: vearne, fearn

#### References

* “fē̆rn, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Old Irish
### Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wernā (compare Welsh gwern). Cognate with Old Armenian գերան (geran).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ɸʲer͈n͈]

### Noun

fern f (genitive fernae, nominative plural ferna)
* alder
* shield (made of alder wood)
* pole, stake
* the letter F

#### Inflection

Feminine ā-stem :
| | Singular | Dual | Plural |
| Nominative | fern$^L$ | feirn$^L$ | ferna$^H$ |
| Vocative | fern$^L$ | feirn$^L$ | ferna$^H$ |
| Accusative | feirn$^N$ | feirn$^L$ | ferna$^H$ |
| Genitive | fernae$^H$ | fern$^L$ | fern$^N$ |
| Dative | feirn$^L$ | fernaib | fernaib |
| Initial mutations of a following adjective: $^H$ = triggers aspiration $^L$ = triggers lenition $^N$ = triggers nasalization ||||

#### Descendants

* Irish: fearn
** ⇒ Irish: fearnóg
* Manx: farney
* Scottish Gaelic: feàrna

### Mutation

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

## Old Saxon
### Noun

fern m
* Alternative form of infern