fiddlehead

American  

[fid-l-hed] / ˈfɪd lˌhɛd /

noun

1. Nautical. a billethead having a form similar to the volute carved at the upper end of a violin.

2. the young, coiled frond of various species of ferns, eaten as a vegetable.

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fiddlehead British  

/ ˈfɪdəlˌhɛd /

noun

1. nautical an ornamental carving, in the shape of the scroll at the head end of a fiddle, fitted to the top of the stem or cutwater

2. the edible coiled tip of a young fern frond

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Etymology

Origin of fiddlehead

First recorded in 1790–1800; fiddle + head

Example Sentences

Spring specialties: garlic scapes, pea shoots, ramps, fiddlehead ferns, English peas, fava beans.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2025

You ask about beautifully named foods that you have never engaged with before—ugli fruit, Buddha’s hand, fiddlehead ferns—and then you chat with the people buying them about how they plan to prepare them.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 18, 2019

Buzzing with fashion insiders, it was a cool clubhouse for well-dressed organic-fed scenesters — a post-Keith McNally generation who prefer fiddlehead ferns over steak frites.

From New York Times • May 25, 2012

Two pieces depicting fiddlehead ferns offer a more asymmetrical and cartoonlike take on frond shapes, focusing not on the delicacy of the plant but on its curling vigor.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 12, 2010

His black, glossy tail curled in on itself like a fiddlehead fern in early spring.

From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate