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▪ I. † fern, a. and adv. Obs.
Forms: 1 fyrn, 3 fer(r)en, (furne), 3 Layamon v(e)orne, 4–5 fern, (4 feorn, 6 farne). Also (as adv. and in Comb.) with prefix, 1 ᵹefyrn, 2 ᵹefern, 3 ifurn, ivurn, ifeorn, iv(e)orn, 4 yfern.
[Perh. repr. two different but synonymous formations (from different ablaut-grades of the same root). The OE. fyrn with y from u, an -i stem that has passed into the -o declension, seems to be a peculiarly Eng. formation (perh. in origin a n., as the form with prefixed ᵹe may suggest), cognate with OS. furn, forn adv. formerly (also in comb. an furndagon = OE. on fyrndaᵹum), OHG. forn (MHG. vorn) formerly, ON. forn adj. ancient (Sw. forn). The sense ‘of last year’, though not recorded before the ME. period, seems to point to an OE. *fierne, which would correspond to OS. fern past (of years), OHG. firni old (MHG. virne old, verne adv. last year, mod.Ger. firne old, of last year), Goth. fairneis old:—OTeut. *fernjo-, cognate with Lith. pernai adv., last year.]
A. adj.
1. Of time: Former, ancient, of old.
After 15th c. only in phrase old fern days or years; cf. 3 and fernyear.
a1000Riddles lxxxi. 9 (Gr.) Fyrn forð-ᵹesceaft. c1275Lay. 24795 Julius..Þat in vorne daȝe bi-wan hit mid fihte. c1300K. Alis. 6356 Feorne men..Clepeth heom Agofagy. a1400Octouian 477 Hyt ys well fern men seyden so. 1529,1562[see fernyear A. 1]. 1571Bp. Lesley Title Success. ii. 6 b, I might here fetche foorth olde farne dayes.
2. fern year: last year: see fernyear.
3. Comb. fern-days, days of old.
a1000Andreas 753 (Gr.) Þis is se ilca ealwalda god Þone on fyrndagum fæderas cuðon. c1205Lay. 27118 Þat Merlin i furn daȝen seide.
B. adv. Long ago, of old, formerly, a long time.
αa1000Guthlac 841 (Gr.) Þone bitran drync Þone Eve fyrn Adame geaf. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 59 Feren it is þat we and ure heldrene habbæð ben turnd fro him. Ibid. 161 Hit is ferren atleien holie tilðe. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 226 It is ferre [v.r. fern] agoo in seynt Fraunceys tyme. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 248 For they han knowen it so fern. c1422Hoccleve Jereslaus's Wife 199 It is ago fern syn I spak yow to Of loue.
βc1000Wulfstan (Napier) xviii. 104 Eala, ᵹefyrn is, þæt ðurh deofol fela þinga misfor. c1205Lay. 24017 Þa iuurn here stoden. a1250Owl & Night. 1306 Heo were ifurn of prestes muþe Amansed. c1275in O.E. Misc. (1872) 193 Ifurn ich habbe isunehed mid worke and mid worde. c1380Sir Ferumb. 3207 Wel y-fern þay holpe ous nouȝt.
▪ II. fern, n.1|fɜːn|
Forms: 1 fearn, 3 south. værne, 4–7 ferne, 6–7 fearn(e, (6 Sc. farne, 7 fyrne, 9 dial. fearn), 7 ferron, 6– fern.
[OE. fearn str. neut. = MDu. væren (Du. varen), OHG. farn, farm (MHG. varn, varm, mod.Ger. farn) neut. and masc. (not recorded in ON., but cf. Sw. dial. fänne:—ON. *ferne):—OTeut. *farno-:—OAryan *porno-, whence Skr. parna neut., wing, feather, leaf. The primitive meaning of the word is doubtless ‘feather’; for the transferred application cf. Gr. πτερόν feather, πτερίς fern.]
1. One of a large group of vascular cryptogamous plants constituting the family Filices; a single plant or frond of the same; also collect. in sing. flowering or royal fern: Osmunda regalis; see osmund. hard fern = Blechnum. lady-fern = Athyrium filix femina. male fern = Lastrea filix-mas. prickly fern = Polystichum aculeatum.
For bladder-, buckler-, hare-foot-, holly-, maidenhair-, tree-, etc. fern, see those words.
a800Corpus Gloss., Filix, fearn. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxiii. §1 Atio ærest of þa þornas & þa fyrsas & þæt fearn. c1205Lay. 12817, I wude i wilderne inne hæðe & inne uærne. c1330Arth. & Merl. 8875 No gaf he ther of nought a ferne. c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 247 Yit is glas nought like aisschen of ferne. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxxi. 307 Tentes, made of black Ferne. 1477Norton Ord. Alch. vi. in Ashm. (1652) 95 Of Ashes of Ferne. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. 6 b, Brome, gorse, fyrs, braken, ferne. 1621Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Pap. (1886) II. 16 He is to vse ffyrnes and heath, but not wood to brew withal. 1639T. de la Grey Compl. Horseman 319 Take the root of male brake or fearn. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 259 A brown desert..that produces nothing but heath and fern. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles v. xix, The tall fern obscured the lawn. 1842Tennyson Talking Oak 201 Hidden deep in fern.
2. a. attrib. and Comb.: simple attrib., as fern-ashes, fern-bracken, fern-bug, fern-bush, fern-covert, fern-faggot, fern-frond, fern-harvest, fern-leaf, fern-moth (also ellipt.), fern-plant, fern-root, fern-spore, fern-stalk, fern-stem, fern-tuft, fern-weevil; objective, as fern-gatherer, fern-grower, fern-lover, fern-thief; instrumental and parasynthetic, as fern-clad, fern-crowned, fern-fringed, fern-leaved, fern-thatched adjs.; similative, as fern-like adj.
c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 246 To maken of *fern asshen glas. 1745Beverley Beck Act ii. 2 Every quarter of fern ashes.
1959Southwood & Leston Land & Water Bugs viii. 203 Bryocoris pteridis,..*fernbug. Widely distributed in the British Isles this bug feeds on ferns.
1567Jewel Def. Apol. ii. 255 In like order of reason he might haue saide it is not a *fearn bushe. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 319 It is a blynde Goose that knoweth not a Foxe from a Fearne-bush.
1841Lever C. O'Malley cviii, An apparently endless succession of *fern-clad hills.
1859G. Meredith R. Feverel xxi, A pine overlooking the *fern-covert.
1612Drayton Poly-olb. xvii. 23 The *Fearne-crown'd Flood.
1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser 47 Heath, Brake, or *Fern Faggots.
1842Faber Styrian Lake 131 The *fern-fringed wall.
1879Encycl. Brit. IX. 101/1 Columna in 1648 compared the *fern frond to butcher's broom.
1886Hall Caine Son of Hagar iii. xi, I'm a *fern⁓gatherer.
1864T. Moore Brit. Ferns 15 The amateur *Ferngrower.
1855Mrs. Gaskell North & S. ii, The *Fern-harvest was over.
1688R. Holme Armoury ii. iv. 60/2 He beareth Argent, a *Fern leaf, Vert. 1937Burlington Mag. Aug. 89/2 Fragments of these Fern Leaf Jars.
1840Mrs. Norton Dream 82 *Fern-leaved Mimosa.
1650How Phytologia Brit. 77 Muscus filicinus Park. *Fernlike Mosse. 1884Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 179 In..Fern-like plants tubes are found.
1865N. Bellairs Hardy Ferns x. 112, I did what I advise other *Fern-lovers to do. 1909Daily Chron. 11 Feb. 3/3 Fern lovers throughout the kingdom are waging a war with the fern grubber.
1908R. South Moths Brit. Is. II. 257 (heading) The *Fern (Phibalapteryx (Coenocalpe) tersata). 1958W. J. Stokoe Caterp. Brit. Moths (rev. ed.) II. 155 (heading) The Fern Moth. Horisme tersata.
1882Vines Sach's Bot. 225 Bulbils from which *Fern-plants are directly developed.
1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccli. 322 Poure peple made hem brede of *fern rotes. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., Fern-root was frequently prescribed by the antients in diet-drinks, for removing obstructions.
1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 13, I thinke the mad slaue, hath tasted on a *ferne-stalke, that he walkes so invisible.
1884Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 289 A number of *Fern-stems with leaves in many rows.
1614Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iii. 29 Their *Fern-thatcht Towns.
1888Athenæum 21 July 105/2 Some *fern thieves were captured.
a1835Mrs. Hemans Poems, Hour of Romance, Under the *fern-tufts.
1959E. F. Linssen Beetles Brit. Is. II. 206 The Australian *Fern Weevils..one of these, Syagrius intrudens..has been introduced into our islands.
b. Special comb.: fern-allies, plants of a nature allied to that of ferns; fern-bird N.Z., a bird of the genus Bowdleria; fern-bracken = bracken (Britten & H.); fern-brake, (a) = prec.; (b) a thicket of fern; † fern-bud, a kind of fern-fly, used by anglers; fern-chafer, a beetle (Scarabæus or Amphimalla solstitialis); fern-crushing N.Z. (see quot. 1947); so fern-crusher; also fern-crushed a.; fern-cup, the cup-like form of the fern just after coming through the ground; fern-fly, a fly frequenting fern; fern-gale, the Sweet Fern (Myrica Comptonia); fern-grinding N.Z., = fern-crushing; fern-house, a conservatory in which ferns are grown; fern-land, (a) land covered with fern N.Z.; (b) a name applied, esp. by Australians, to New Zealand; Fernleaf (see quots.); fern-moss, a genus of mosses, Fissidens; fern-oil (see quot.); † fern-sitter, a name given to the hare; fern-tree = tree-fern; fern-web, a beetle (Scarabæus or Melorontha horticola). Also fern-owl, -seed.
1879Encycl. Brit. IX. 100/2 Groups..often spoken of..as *Fern-allies.
1882W. L. Buller Man. Birds N.Z. 17 Sphenocacus punctatus. Quoy and Gaim. *Fern-bird. Utick. Matata. 1888Fern-bird [see swamp sparrow (b)]. 1963Weekly News (Auckland) 26 June 31 Fern-birds habitually nest among the raupo reeds.
1611Chapman May Day Plays 1873 II. 352 A bath of *fernebraks for your fustie bodie. 1622Fletcher Beggar's Bush v. i, Your breech is safe enough: the wolf's a fern-brake.
1760Walton & Cotton's Angler App. (1760) 121 *Fern-Bud, this fly is got on Fern.
1774G. White Selborne lx. 103 The appearance..of the *fern⁓chafer. 1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xvi. (1828) II. 5. Of this nature seems to be that of the cockchafer and fern-chafer.
1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 231 In the New Zealand climate *fern-crushed pasture-land of good and medium quality will support one to three sheep per acre. 1916N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. 20 June 435 Cattle are often looked upon as more efficient fern-crushers than are sheep on land suitable for cattle.
1891R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xv. 230 *Fern crushing. Of the fern country, that upon a limestone formation is the best and the least expensive to break in. 1947A. Clark in H. Belshaw N.Z. ii. 40 Hence beef-cattle are used for ‘fern-crushing’, that is, for keeping in check the undesirable second growth of bracken fern over large areas of the North Island hills.
1888Pall Mall G. 4 July 5/1 In their nightly gambols through my garden they too often destroy..my choicest *fern-cups.
1676Cotton Angler ii. 330 The *Fern-fly..is of the colour of Fern or Bracken. 1686Plot Staffordsh. 233 The Fern-Flyes..feed on the young corn and grass, and hinder their growth. 1867F. Francis Angling vi. (1880) 230 The Fern Fly..known to children..as, ‘Soldiers and Sailors’.
1921H. Guthrie-Smith Tutira xvii. 134 The operation known..as ‘fern-crushing’ or ‘*fern-grinding’.
1847J. Paget Mem. & Lett. 15 Sept. (1901) 157 You who occasionally see green fields cannot imagine the refreshment of my *fern-house. 1851Gardeners' Chron. 27 Dec. 823/2 We entertain no doubt about cold Fern houses becoming in time as common as greenhouses. 1891L. T. Meade Sweet Girl Graduate x. 89 I'll take you into our fern-house... We have got such exquisite maidenhairs. 1943K. Tennant Ride on Stranger (1968) viii. 82 He had plenty of time to..tend the ferns in a dirty little fernhouse.
1843N.Z. Company Rep. (1844) 1 Dec. XIV. 121 The facilities, however, which *fern land offers, compared with bush or flax land, has induced a large proportion of the settlers to prefer it for their first operation. 1933Bulletin (Sydney) 13 Sept. 10/2 Willeby has written nothing with the slightest flavour of Fernland.
1916Chrons. N.Z.E.F. 15 Nov. 127/1 Call them ‘Over⁓seas soldiers’ or ‘Down-under’ men,..Call them ‘Corn⁓stalks’ or ‘*Fernleaves’—all out for a fight—But don't call them Anzacs, for that isn't right. 1925Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 93 Fernleaves, a familiar term for the New Zealanders. (From the New Zealand badge.)
1698J. Petiver in Phil. Trans. XX. 398 Our common *Fern Moss. 1868F. E. Tripp Brit. Mosses 181 Marsh Fern Moss..Rock Fern Moss.
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Fern-oil in pottery, a name given..to a sort of varnish, which the Chinese use in their porcelain manufactories. It is also called lime-oil.
a1325Names of Hare in Rel. Ant. I. 134 The hare The liȝtt-fot, the *fernsittere.
1827Hellyer in Bischoff Van Diemen's Land (1852) 166 *Fern trees twenty feet in height. 1884Boldrewood Melb. Mem. xx. 147 Picnics to fern-tree gullies..were successfully carried out.
1796W. Marshall W. Devon. Gloss., *Fern-web. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. vii. (ed. 12) 37 With a hook and a bit of worm on it, or a fern-web.
Hence ferned ppl. a., fern-grown; ˈfernist, one who cultivates or takes an interest in ferns; ˈfernless a., devoid of ferns.
1845Hirst Poems 155, I tread on ferned and laurelled hills. 1865Athenæum No. 1959. 648/3 The fernist of meanest capacity. 1888― 21 July 105/2 Fairlight Glen, once the loveliest spot on the southern coast, now almost fernless. 1893T. E. Brown Old John, etc. 177 Rose plot, Fringed pool, Ferned grot.
▪ III. † fern, n.2 Obs.
[perh. repr. OE. firen, ON. firn pl., orig. a crime, monstrous thing; for the sense cf. mod.Icel. firní ‘a great deal, a lot’ (Vigf.).]
A huge quantity or number.
a1300Cursor M. 3998 (Cott.) O þis gret aght þou has me lent I sal gret fern be-for me sent. c1325Metr. Hom. 126 A lazer..Com and asked Crist his hele, Bifor that fern of folc sa fele.
▪ IV. fern, n.3 Obs. exc. dial.
Also 4, 6 verne, 7 fearne.
[ME. verne, perh. f. viron to go round, a. F. vironner, f. viron circuit.]
A windlass.
[a1327Acc. Works Westm. Palace in Promp. Parv. 510 note, Gynes voc' fernes. 1328Ibid., Circa facturam cujusdam verne sive ingenii.] 1546Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. ii. vii. 47 b, Cranes or Vernes to winde up great Weightes. 1574Nottingham Rec. IV. 155 The vse of a ferne to lode the tymber wyth. 1611Cotgr., Moulinet à brassières, the barrell of a windlasse or fearne. Ibid., Chevie, the engine called by architects, etc. a fearne. 1847–78Halliwell, Fearn, a windlass. Linc.
▪ V. fern, v.|fɜːn|
[f. fern n.1]
1. trans. To cover with fern.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 338 The mapul, ooke and assche endureth longe In floryng yf thou ferne it welle. 1862Macm. Mag. Sept. 426 How was it [island] lichened and mossed, ferned and heathed?
2. intr. To feed upon fern. ? Obs.
1576Turberv. Venerie 153 When he feedeth on fearne or rootes, then it is called rowting or fearning. 1688R. Holme Armoury ii. 135/2 For the Feeding..if..Boar and Swine..be in open Grounds, on Heaths..they are Fearning. |