MALE FERN • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Male fern

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/meɪl fərn/ Listen

adjective

Male adj.

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.

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.

3.

Suitable to the male sex; characteristic or suggestive of a male; masculine; as, male courage.

4.

Consisting of males; as, a male choir.

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.

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.

noun

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.

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Etymology of 'Male fern'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Male fern" Quotes from Famous Books

... canal is kept loaded with indigestible or half-digested food, and that liquid foods are favorable to these pests, while solids tend to expel them. Freshly powdered areca nut, in teaspoonful doses, and the same quantity of a mixture of oil of male fern and olive oil, three parts oil and one part male fern oil, I find are both excellent vermifuges to give to matured dogs. Give a dose and two days after repeat, and this, I think, will be found ...

— The Boston Terrier and All About It - A Practical, Scientific, and Up to Date Guide to the Breeding of the American Dog • Edward Axtell

... suitable for decoration; for instance, the male fern (Filix-mas) is of too tender a texture to stand upright when weighted with colour. The very best fern is the common brake (Pteris aquilina), as also the common polypody (Polypodium vulgare). The fronds of the brake should be gathered in August ...

— Practical Taxidermy • Montagu Browne

... (Aspidium Filix Mas). Male Fern is the anthelmintic which is considered especially effectual in removing the tape-worm. Dose—Of the powder, one to two drachms, given morning and evening in syrup, followed by a brisk cathartic. The dose of the tincture of the buds in ether is ...

— The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English • R. V. Pierce

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