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Thistle
//θɪsl̩// name, noun
Definitions
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Noun
- 1 Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.
"Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [...]."
- 2 any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves wordnet
- 3 This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
- 4 An image of this plant used as a charge.
- 5 The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof.
"Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’"
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English thistel, from Old English þistel, from Proto-West Germanic *þistil, from Proto-Germanic *þistilaz. *þīh- from *teyg-, which is a variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to prick”); from this same Proto-Indo-European root comes English stick. Cognates include Scots thrissel, German Distel, Dutch distel, and Old Norse and Icelandic þistill.
Etymology 2
English surname from the noun thistle. Anglicized sources include German Distel and Norwegian Tistel (see tistel).
See also for "thistle"
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