The Collaborative International Dictionary
ostrich \os"trich\ ([o^]s"trich), n. [OE. ostriche, ostrice, OF. ostruche, ostruce, F. autruche, L. avis struthio; avis bird + struthio ostrich, fr. Gr. ?, fr. ? bird, sparrow. Cf. Aviary, Struthious.] [Formerly written also estrich.] (Zo["o]l.) A large bird of the genus Struthio, of which Struthio camelus of Africa is the best known species. It has long and very strong legs, adapted for rapid running; only two toes; a long neck, nearly bare of feathers; and short wings incapable of flight. The adult male is about eight feet high.
Note: The South African ostrich ( Struthio australis) and the Asiatic ostrich are considered distinct species by some authors. Ostriches are now domesticated in South Africa in large numbers for the sake of their plumes. The body of the male is covered with elegant black plumose feathers, while the wings and tail furnish the most valuable white plumes.
Ostrich farm, a farm on which ostriches are bred for the sake of their feathers, oil, eggs, etc.
Ostrich farming, the occupation of breeding ostriches for the sake of their feathers, etc.
Ostrich fern (Bot.) a kind of fern ( Onoclea Struthiopteris), the tall fronds of which grow in a circle from the rootstock. It is found in alluvial soil in Europe and North America.
Wiktionary
n. (taxlink Matteuccia struthiopteris species noshow=1), a crown-forming, colony-forming fern occurring in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in eastern and northern Europe, northern Asia and northern North America.
WordNet
n. tall fern of northern temperate regions having graceful arched fronds and sporophylls resembling ostrich plumes [syn: shuttlecock fern, fiddlehead, Matteuccia struthiopteris, Pteretis struthiopteris, Onoclea struthiopteris]
Usage examples of "ostrich fern".
Here beneath the willowy branches of the evergreens, the Chinese Judas, amid the aspidistra and plantain lily, the lacy ostrich fern, the okame bamboo grass, he was never more acutely aware of the beauty of the world.
That was the rhododendron in the eighteenth century--and the camellia, the hydrangea, the wild cherry, the rudbeckia, the azalea, the aster, the ostrich fern, the catalpa, the spice bush, the Venus flytrap, the Virginia creeper, the euphorbia.