thistle
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /θɪsl̩/
rhymes: -ɪsəl
Forms: form: thistles
Etymology: 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.
Senses: examples: text: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [...].
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 3:18:
text: I wasn’t born of a whistle, or milked from a thistle at twilight / No; I was all horns and thorns, sprung out fully formed, knock-kneed and upright
ref: 2006, Joanna Newsom, “Sawdust and Diamonds”, in Ys:
glosses: Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.
glosses: This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
topics: government
heraldry
hobbies
lifestyle
monarchy
nobility
politics
glosses: An image of this plant used as a charge.
examples: text: Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’
ref: 1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 324:
glosses: The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof.
Derived terms: taxonomic: Cynara cardunculus
word: artichoke thistle
word: blessed milk thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: blessed thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium vulgare
word: bull thistle
taxonomic: Arctium spp.
word: burr thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium arvense
word: Canada thistle
english: Carlina spp. et al.
translation: Carlina spp. et al.
word: carline thistle
taxonomic: Sonchus oleraceus
word: common sow thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium arvense
word: corn thistle
taxonomic: Onopordum acanthium
word: cotton thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium arvense
word: creeping thistle
taxonomic: Carduus crispus
word: curly plumeless thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium acaule
word: dwarf thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium edule
word: edible thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium palustre
word: European swamp thistle
taxonomic: Dipsacus fullonum
word: fuller's thistle
taxonomic: Echinops spp.
word: globe thistle
taxonomic: Scolymus spp.
word: golden thistle
taxonomic: Sonchus oleraceus
word: hare's thistle
taxonomic: Echinocactus spp.
word: hedgehog thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium edule
word: Indian thistle
taxonomic: Carduus pycnocephalus
word: Italian thistle
taxonomic: Solanum rostratum
word: Kansas thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: Marian thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium palustre
word: marsh thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: Mary thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: Mediterranean milk thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium helenioides
alt: C. heterophyllum
word: melancholy thistle
taxonomic: Sonchus oleraceus
word: milk thistle
word: musk thistle
taxonomic: Carduus nutans
word: nodding thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium pumilum
word: pasture thistle
taxonomic: Chamaeleon gummifer
word: pine thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium vulgare
word: plumed thistle
taxonomic: Carduus pycnocephalus
word: Plymouth thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium vulgare
word: roadside thistle
taxonomic: Salsola australis
word: Russian thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: Saint Mary's thistle
alt: Onopordum acanthium et al.
word: Scotch thistle
taxonomic: Carduus spp.
word: shore thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium crassicaule
word: slough thistle
taxonomic: Picnomon acarna
word: soldier thistle
word: sow-thistle
taxonomic: Sonchus spp.
word: sow thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium vulgare
word: spear thistle
word: star thistle
word: star-thistle
taxonomic: Centaurea spp'
word: starthistle
taxonomic: Cirsium acaule
word: stemless thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium altissimus
word: tall thistle
taxonomic: Vanessa spp.
word: thistle butterfly
word: thistle button
word: thistle crown
word: thistledown
taxonomic: Carduelis carduelis
word: thistlefinch
word: thistle funnel
taxonomic: Salvia carduacea
word: thistle sage
word: thistle tube
word: thistly
taxonomic: Gundelia spp.
word: tumble thistle
taxonomic: Silybum marianum
word: variegated thistle
taxonomic: Eryngium campestre
word: Watling Street thistle
taxonomic: Cirsium arvense
word: way thistle
taxonomic: Carduus crispus
word: welted thistle
word: wood-thistle
word: woodthistle (Cirsium altissimus
taxonomic: Argemone mexicana
word: yellow thistle