Standard Lemma guide

usnea

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Any lichen of the genus Usnea.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: old man's beard

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

widely distributed lichens usually having a greyish or yellow pendulous freely branched thallus

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: genus Usnea

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fungus genus

History

Etymology

Borrowed from translingual Usnea, from Arabic أُشْنَة (ʔušna, “moss”).

Across languages

Translations

4 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ahtna: datsʼiisi dadyuutsʼi — lichen of the genus Usnea
  • Bulgarian: брада́т ли́шей (bradát líšej) — lichen of the genus Usnea
  • Bulgarian: у́снеа (úsnea) — lichen of the genus Usnea
  • French: usnée — lichen of the genus Usnea