adiantum Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun cosmopolitan genus of ferns: maidenhair ferns; in some classification systems placed in family Polypodiaceae or Adiantaceae
    genus Adiantum.

WordNet

Ad`i*an"tum noun
Etymology
L., fr. Gr. , maidenhair; priv. + to wet.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of ferns, the leaves of which shed water; maidenhair. Also, the black maidenhair, a species of spleenwort.

Webster 1913