maidenhair

noun
/ˈmeɪdənhɛː/UK/ˈmeɪdənhɛəɹ/US

Etymology

From maiden + hair.

  1. inherited from here
  2. derived from *kes- — “to scrape, comb
  3. inherited from *hērą — “hair
  4. inherited from *hār
  5. inherited from hǣr
  6. inherited from her
  7. compounded as maidenhair — “maiden + hair

Definitions

  1. A woman's pubic hair.

    • He fingered shreds of hair, her maidenhair, her mermaid's, into the bowl
    • His fingers tore at her maidenhair. Gasping, she recoiled for long enough to allow him entry.
    • Some said they'd seen her over by Death's-Door, with bloodstains on her dress, which was so white and transparent they were seized with shame and fear at the faint beauty of her breasts and the eternal modesty of her maidenhair.
  2. Either of two species of genus Adiantum of fern with delicate, hair-like stalks,…

    Either of two species of genus Adiantum of fern with delicate, hair-like stalks, especially Adiantum capillus-veneris.

    • Our common Maidenhair does from a number of hard black fibres, send forth a great many blacking shining brittle stalks, hardly a span long [...].
    • Among herbs that have traditionally been considered to possess aphrodisiac virtue are, maidenhair, navelwort, anemone, wild poppy, valerian, cyclamen, male fern, pansy, periwinkle.
  3. Either of two ericaceous plants, the creeping snowberry or the checkerberry.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for maidenhair. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA