Thorn

Thorn
Thorn Thorn, n. [AS. [thorn]orn; akin to OS. & OFries. thorn, D. doorn, G. dorn, Dan. torn, Sw. t["o]rne, Icel. [thorn]orn, Goth. [thorn]a['u]rnus; cf. Pol. tarn, Russ. tern' the blackthorn, ternie thorns, Skr. t[.r][.n]a grass, blade of grass. [root]53.] 1. A hard and sharp-pointed projection from a woody stem; usually, a branch so transformed; a spine. [1913 Webster]

2. (Bot.) Any shrub or small tree which bears thorns; especially, any species of the genus Crat[ae]gus, as the hawthorn, whitethorn, cockspur thorn. [1913 Webster]

3. Fig.: That which pricks or annoys as a thorn; anything troublesome; trouble; care. [1913 Webster]

There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. --2 Cor. xii. 7. [1913 Webster]

The guilt of empire, all its thorns and cares, Be only mine. --Southern. [1913 Webster]

4. The name of the Anglo-Saxon letter ?, capital form ?. It was used to represent both of the sounds of English th, as in thin, then. So called because it was the initial letter of thorn, a spine. [1913 Webster]

{Thorn apple} (Bot.), Jamestown weed.

{Thorn broom} (Bot.), a shrub that produces thorns.

{Thorn hedge}, a hedge of thorn-bearing trees or bushes.

{Thorn devil}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Moloch}, 2.

{Thorn hopper} (Zo["o]l.), a tree hopper ({Thelia crat[ae]gi}) which lives on the thorn bush, apple tree, and allied trees. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Thorn — has several meanings:* Thorn, a sharp structure on plants * Thorn tree * Common hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna * Thorn (letter) (Þ, þ), a letter in the Anglo Saxon and Icelandic alphabets * Thorn (rune) (runic|ᚦ), the name of the th rune in the… …   Wikipedia

  • Thorn — als Ortsname: die ehemals preußische Stadt Thorn, heute Toruń in Polen, dazu Landkreis Thorn, preußisch deutscher Landkreis zwischen 1818 und 1945 Woiwodschaft Thorn ,1975–1998 Bistum Thorn, (lat.: Dioecesis Thoruniensis, poln.: Diecezja… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thorn — (poln. Torun), Stadt (Stadtkreis) im preuß. Regbez. Marienwerder, Festung ersten Ranges, an der Weichsel, über die hier eine 1000 m lange Eisenbahnbrücke führt, 35 m ü. M., hat alte, vom Deutschen Orden erbaute Ringmauern, 6 evangelische und 3… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • thorn´i|ly — thorn|y «THR nee», adjective, thorn|i|er, thorn|i|est. 1. full of thorns or spines; spiny; prickly: »He scratched his hands on the thorny bush …   Useful english dictionary

  • thorn|y — «THR nee», adjective, thorn|i|er, thorn|i|est. 1. full of thorns or spines; spiny; prickly: »He scratched his hands on the thorny bush …   Useful english dictionary

  • Thorn — Thorn, v. t. To prick, as with a thorn. [Poetic] [1913 Webster] I am the only rose of all the stock That never thorn d him. Tennyson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • thorn — O.E. þorn sharp point on a stem or branch, earlier thorny tree or plant, from P.Gmc. *thurnuz (Cf. O.S. thorn, Du. doorn, O.H.G. dorn, Ger. Dorn, O.N. þorn, Goth. þaurnus), from PIE *trnus (Cf. O.C.S. trunu thorn, Skt …   Etymology dictionary

  • thorn — [thôrn] n. [ME < OE, akin to Ger dorn < IE * (s)ter , prickly plant (< base * ster , to be stiff) > Gr ternax, cactus stem] 1. a) a very short, hard, leafless branch or stem with a sharp point b) any small tree or shrub bearing thorns …   English World dictionary

  • thorn — [θo:n US θo:rn] n [: Old English;] 1.) a sharp point that grows on the stem of a plant such as a rose 2.) [U and C] a bush or tree that has thorns ▪ a long, low hedge of thorns 3.) a thorn in sb s side someone or something that annoys you or… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • thorn — ► NOUN 1) a stiff, sharp pointed woody projection on the stem or other part of a plant. 2) a thorny bush, shrub, or tree. 3) an Old English and Icelandic runic letter, þ or Þ, eventually superseded by th. ● a thorn in someone s side (or flesh) Cf …   English terms dictionary

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