- fernseed
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fern seed
n.
The dustlike spores of ferns, formerly believed to be seeds and once thought to have the power of making their possessor invisible.
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Universalium. 2010.
fernseed
Look at other dictionaries:
fernseed — In Elizabethan times the seed of ferns was thought to be invisible, except for a few moments around *midnight on *Mid summer Eve, when it could be seen falling to the ground; anyone who could catch some in a pewter plate would be invisible… … A Dictionary of English folklore
midsummer — (23/4 June) Astronomically, the summer solstice is 21 June, but tradition throughout Europe reckons 24 June as Midsummer Day, and calls the night of 23/4 Midsummer Eve, Midsummer Night, or *St John s Eve, since 24 June is the feast of St John… … A Dictionary of English folklore
St Mark's Eve — (24/5 April) This was the night for keeping watch to see the *wraiths of those who would die during the year. The practice has been recorded throughout England from the 17th century till late in the 19th century, especially in northern and… … A Dictionary of English folklore
taboos — Rules explicitly forbidding people to do some specific thing, often petty in itself, on pain of serious ill luck, or failure in some enterprise (as opposed to a mere belief that an action is unlucky). Current English examples are the bans on… … A Dictionary of English folklore
