fern (fûrn)n. Any of numerous flowerless, seedless vascular plants that produce spores giving rise to free-living gametophytes and that often have dissected leaves.[Middle English, from Old English fearn; see per- in Indo-European roots.]fern?y adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.fern (f??n) n1. (Plants) any tracheophyte plant of the phylum Filicinophyta, having roots, stems, and fronds and reproducing by spores formed in structures (sori) on the fronds. See also tree fern2. (Plants) any of certain similar but unrelated plants, such as the sweet fern[Old English fearn; related to Old High German farn, Sanskrit parná leaf] ?fern?like adj ?ferny adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014fern (f?rn) n. a nonflowering vascular plant of the class Filicinae, having fronds and reproducing by spores. [before 900; Middle English ferne, Old English fearn; c. Middle Dutch væren, Old High German farn fern, Skt parná feather] fern?like`, adj. fern?y, adj. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.fern (fûrn) Any of numerous seedless plants usually having feathery fronds divided into many leaflets. Ferns have vascular tissue like plants that bear seeds but reproduce by means of spores.The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Fern a huge quantity or number, 1300.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.