Fiddlehead
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 The scroll-shaped decoration at the tip of a fiddle.
- 2 New World fern having woolly cinnamon-colored spore-bearing fronds in early spring later surrounded by green fronds; the early uncurling fronds are edible wordnet
- 3 A similar scroll-shaped ornament on a ship's bow.
"Such a ship as the Rose of Devon frigate, standing out for the open sea, is a sight the world no longer affords. Those ships are “gone, gone, gone with lost Atlantis.” Their lofty poops, their little bonaventure masts, their lateen sails aft, their high forecastles and tall bowsprits with the square spritsail flaunted before the fiddlehead, came down from an even earlier day"
- 4 tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes wordnet
- 5 The furled fronds of a young fern, sometimes harvested for food consumption.
Example
More examples"Such a ship as the Rose of Devon frigate, standing out for the open sea, is a sight the world no longer affords. Those ships are “gone, gone, gone with lost Atlantis.” Their lofty poops, their little bonaventure masts, their lateen sails aft, their high forecastles and tall bowsprits with the square spritsail flaunted before the fiddlehead, came down from an even earlier day"
Etymology
From fiddle + head.
More for "fiddlehead"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.