Thorn
Pronunciation : Thorn
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [AS. ?orn; akin to OS. & OFries. thorn, D. doorn, G. dorn, Dan. torn, Sw. t?rne, Icel. ?orn, Goth. ?a?rnus; cf. Pol. tarn, Russ. tern' the blackthorn, ternie thorns, Skr. trsnsa grass, blade of grass. *53.]
Definition : 1. A hard and sharp-pointed projection from a woody stem; usually, a branch so transformed; a spine.
2. (Bot.)
Defn: Any shrub or small tree which bears thorns; especially, any species of the genus Crat?gus, as the hawthorn, whitethorn, cockspur thorn.
3. Fig.: That which pricks or annoys as a thorn; anything troublesome; trouble; care. There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me. 2 Cor. xii. 7. The guilt of empire, all its thorns and cares, Be only mine. Southern.
4. The name of the Anglo-Saxon letter th, as in thin, then. So called because it was the initial letter of thorn, a spine. Thorn apple (Bot.), Jamestown weed. -- Thorn broom (Bot.), a shrub that produces thorns. -- Thorn hedge, a hedge of thorn-bearing trees or bushes. -- Thorn devil. (Zo?l.) See Moloch, 2. -- Thorn hopper (Zo?l.), a tree hopper (Thelia crat?gi) which lives on the thorn bush, apple tree, and allied trees.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913
Pronunciation : Thorn
Part of Speech : v.
Definition : Defn: To prick, as with a thorn. [Poetic] I am the only rose of all the stock That never thorn'd him. Tennyson.
t.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913