bracken poisoning

noun

variants or bracken staggers

: a disease of livestock caused by eating mature bracken and resulting in loss of appetite, diarrhea, weakness, and knuckling of fetlocks and appearing to be a true avitaminosis in that some unknown factor in the bracken renders certain B-complex vitamins unavailable to the animal

Word History

Etymology

bracken entry 1

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

• More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
• Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
• Advanced search features
• Ad free!