thorn

thorn
thornless, adj.thornlike, adj.
/thawrn/, n.
1. a sharp excrescence on a plant, esp. a sharp-pointed aborted branch; spine; prickle.
2. any of various thorny shrubs or trees, esp. the hawthorns belonging to the genus Crataegus, of the rose family.
3. the wood of any of these trees.
4. a runic character (þ), borrowed into the Latin alphabet and representing the initial th sounds in thin and they in Old English, or thin in modern Icelandic.
5. something that wounds, annoys, or causes discomfort.
6. thorn in one's side or flesh, a source of continual irritation or suffering: That child is a thorn in the teacher's side.
v.t.
7. to prick with a thorn; vex.
[bef. 900; ME (n.), OE; c. D doorn, G Dorn, ON thorn, Goth thaurnus]

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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 — 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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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