1. 1  a product of simple manual skill, as a plaited leather cord for the neck or a knife sheath, made typically by a camper or a scout. 2  work of little or no value done merely to keep or look busy. 3  a project funded by the federal government out of political favoritism that is of no real value to the community or the nation.
Unfurling fiddlehead fern frond. A frond is a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group. Other botanists allow the term frond to also apply to the large leaves of cycads and palms (Arecaceae).
The leafy branch of the fern is usually called a frond. The small leaflets that make up the whole frond are called pinnae. If you look underneath a fern frond, you will often see small clumps, spots or patches that look like they are stuck onto the under surface of the pinnae.