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THORNS

 - 5 dictionary results

thorn

  [thawrn]
Use THORNS in a Sentence
–noun
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.
–verb (used with object)
6. to prick with a thorn; vex.
—Idiom
7. thorn in one's side or flesh, a source of continual irritation or suffering: That child is a thorn in the teacher's side.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME (n.), OE; c. D doorn, G Dorn, ON thorn, Goth thaurnus

Related forms:
thornless, adjective
thornlike, adjective

Thorn

  [tawrn]
–noun
German name of Torun.

To⋅ruń

  [taw-roon-yuh ]
–noun
a city in N Poland, on the Vistula. 149,000.
German, Thorn.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To THORNS
thorn   (thôrn)   
n.  

  1. Botany

    1. A modified branch in the form of a sharp, woody spine.

    2. Any of various shrubs, trees, or woody plants bearing sharp, woody spines.

  2. Any of various sharp, spiny protuberances; a prickle.

  3. One that causes sharp pain, irritation, or discomfort: He is a thorn in my side.

  4. The runic letter þ originally representing either sound of the Modern English th, as in the and thin, used in Old English and Middle English manuscripts.


[Middle English, from Old English.]
thorn'less adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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. trnam "blade of grass," Gk. ternax "stalk of the cactus," Ir. trainin "blade of grass"), from *(s)ter-n- "thorny plant," from base *ster- "stiff." Fig. sense of "anything which causes pain" is recorded from c.1230 (thorn in the flesh is from II Cor. xii.7). Also an O.E. and Icelandic runic letter (þ), named for the word of which it was the initial. Thorny is O.E. þornig; fig. sense is attested from c.1340.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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