Thistle
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɪsəl
Origin
From Old English þistel, from Proto-Germanic *þistilaz. *þīh- from *teyg-, which is a variant of Proto-Indo-European *steyg- ("to prick"); from this same Proto-Indo-European root comes English stick. Cognates include German Distel and Icelandic þistill.
Full definition of thistle
Noun
thistle
(plural thistles)- Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara or , having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.
- Authorized Version, Genesis 3:18:Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field ....
- This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
- The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof.
- 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia, Faber & Faber 1992 (Avignon Quintet), p. 324:Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’