Fiddlehead

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈfɪdəlˌhɛd/

Definitions

1. The coiled young frond of a fern or the similarly coiled tip of certain plants, resembling the decorative scroll at the head of a violin
2. The tightly coiled and immature frond of a fern plant, or a similarly spiraled stem tip of certain climbing vines, often harvested as an edible vegetable
3. The term refers to the immature, coiled fronds of ferns as well as the spiraled ends of some climbing plants, both of which are often used as food

Etymology: The fern's curled shoot is named for a violin's scroll. A fiddle's scroll is the carved spiral at the top of its neck, and the fiddlehead is the young fern frond that uncurls from a similar tight coil. The name compounds "fiddle," the instrument, with "head," the rounded top or end of something, so the word describes a plant part by comparison with a musical object. The resemblance is visual: a frond still rolled up at the tip looks like the scroll of a stringed instrument. The compound is transparent in form, and its sense rests entirely on that shape. The word's sense is literal, not figurative, and it has stayed attached to the plant's young coil ever since.