Buckthorn
//ˈbʌk.θɔːn// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any of several, often thorny shrubs or small trees, especially; the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae),; especially genus Rhamnus,
- 2 an Old World plantain with long narrow ribbed leaves widely established in temperate regions wordnet
- 3 Any of several, often thorny shrubs or small trees, especially; the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae),; especially genus Rhamnus,; especially common buckthorn or purging buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica).
- 4 any shrub or small tree of the genus Bumelia wordnet
- 5 Any of several, often thorny shrubs or small trees, especially; the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae),; also alder buckthorn (Frangula), especially Frangula alnus).
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- 6 a shrub or shrubby tree of the genus Rhamnus; fruits are source of yellow dyes or pigments wordnet
- 7 Any of several, often thorny shrubs or small trees, especially; sea buckthorn (Hippophae, in family Elaeagnaceae).
Etymology
Calque of Latin cervī spīna (“deer's thorny shrub”), cervi (“deer's”) being the genitive singular of cervus (“deer”), from Proto-Italic *kerwos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥h₂wós, from *ḱerh₂- (“horn”) + *-wós, spīna (“thorny shrub”) from Proto-Italic *speinā, from Proto-Indo-European *spey- (“sharp point”). By surface analysis, buck + thorn.
Related phrases
California buckthorn - Frangula californicaCarolina buckthorn - Frangula carolinianaCascara buckthorn - Frangula purshianaChinese buckthorn - Rhamnus utilisDahurian buckthorn - Rhamnus davuricaFrangula carolinianaItalian buckthorn - Rhamnus alaternusJamaica buckthorn - Rosa laevigataJapanese buckthorn - Rhamnus japonicaModoc buckthorn - Frangula rubra subsp. modocensisNevada buckthorn - Frangula rubra subsp. nevadensisSiberian buckthorn - Rhamnus erythroxylon
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.