Meanings
plural oak ferns · alternative oakfern
- A fern of genus Gymnocarpium (syn. Thelypteris) which grows on trees, especially Gymnocarpium dryopteris.
- A bat's wing fern (Histiopteris incisa)
- Synonym of common polypody (Polypodium vulgare), a fern formerly thought to have medicinal properties when found growing on an oak.
Why say we, that […] to know the vertue of Reubarb, qualitie of Oak ferne, and operation of Polipodie, is only peculiar unto man?
, II.12Synonyms: common polypody
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of common polypody (Polypodium vulgare), a fern formerly thought to have medicinal properties when found growing on an oak.
More synonyms by meaning
nounbright blue-green fern widely distributed especially in damp acid woodlands of temperate Northern Hemisphere
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Icelandic þrílaufungur
- þrílaufungurGymnocarpium dryopteris
Welsh rhedyn tridarn, rhedyn cyffredin
- rhedyn tridarnGymnocarpium dryopteris
- rhedyn cyffredinPolypodium vulgare
- rhedyn y derwPolypodium vulgare
Cite this entry
oak fern. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oak%20fern
“oak fern.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oak%20fern. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oak fern,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oak%20fern.
Source: oak fern on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.