frond

[ frond ]
See synonyms for frond on Thesaurus.com
nounBotany.
  1. an often large, finely divided leaf, especially as applied to the ferns and certain palms.

  2. a leaflike expansion not differentiated into stem and foliage, as in lichens.

Origin of frond

1
1745–55; <Latin frond- (stem of frōns) branch, bough, foliage

Other words from frond

  • fronded, adjective

Words Nearby frond

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use frond in a sentence

  • Near the banks, the water is shallow and her palm frond oars propel her.

  • To keep the frond in position it may be useful to put a book on the paper as it is spread out.

    How to Know the Ferns | S. Leonard Bastin
  • Suddenly, however, I thought I detected a slight movement in a bracken frond beside the furze.

    Creatures of the Night | Alfred W. Rees
  • Each frond is composed of slender interwoven fibres with club-shaped filaments passing vertically to the surface.

    The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux
  • Its frond is tubular, and the spore-clusters are situated on the tips of the branches, surrounded by a whorl of small branchlets.

    The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux
  • The frond contains a single tube, and is jointed and forked, the joints being usually transparent.

    The Sea Shore | William S. Furneaux

British Dictionary definitions for frond

frond

/ (frɒnd) /


noun
  1. a large compound leaf, esp of a fern

  2. the thallus of a seaweed or a lichen

Origin of frond

1
C18: from Latin frōns

Derived forms of frond

  • fronded, adjective
  • frondless, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for frond

frond

[ frŏnd ]


  1. A leaf of a fern or cycad, usually consisting of multiple leaflets.

  2. A large, fanlike leaf of a palm tree.

  1. A leaflike structure such as the thallus of a lichen or a seaweed.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.