Bracken

//ˈbɹækən// name, noun

name, noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock. countable, uncountable, usually
  2. 2
    large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan wordnet
  3. 3
    An area of countryside heavily populated by this fern. uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    fern of southeastern Asia; not hardy in cold temperate regions wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.
  2. 2
    An unincorporated community in Huntington County, Indiana, United States.
  3. 3
    An unincorporated community in Webster County, Missouri, United States, named after Bracken Creek.
  4. 4
    A village in the Rural Municipality of Lone Tree No. 18, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Synonyms

All synonyms
algaeautophytebeanbrakebrownbrown algae

Example

More examples

"Bronzing bracken and mottled bramble gleamed in the light of the sinking sun."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English braken, probably of Scandinavian/North Germanic origin, from Old Norse *brakni (“undergrowth”), related to Proto-Germanic *brekaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Cognates include Danish bregne and Swedish bräken (“fern”).

Etymology 2

* As an Irish surname, from Ó Breacáin (“descendant of Breacán”), from Breacán, a name diminutive of breac (“spotted”) * As an English surname, from Middle English bracken (“fern”) * As an English habitational surname, from Bracon Ash in Norfolk, Bracken in Yorkshire * As a German surname, from Middle Low German braak (“fallow”) Also compare Brackeen.

Related phrases

Bracken County

More for "bracken"

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.