thistle

C2 Topic:Family & Relationships

US /θɪsl̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #34810

Meanings

1

noun
any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves

I lost my ball in the thistle.
2

noun
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 [...].
3

noun
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.’.
4

noun
This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.

Thesaurus

Word family

Derived forms sow-thistlestar-thistlestarthistlethistledownthistlefinchthistlywood-thistle

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

globe thistle
a prickly plant with round, usually blue flower heads

Noun + noun
musk thistle
a spiny thistle with nodding reddish-purple flower heads that attract nectar-feeding insects

Noun + noun

Tongue twisters (2)

See all

Sift the Thistles
Fill the sieve with thistles, then sift the thistles in the sieve.

Contrast /θ/ at the start of thistles with /s/ in sieve and sift. The written t in thistles is silent; sieve rhymes with give.
Six Thick Thistle Sticks
Six thick thistle sticks.

Contrast /s/ with /θ/ while keeping the /ks/ ending of six. Thistle starts with /θ/ and has a silent written t; sticks starts with /st/.

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.

Topics

Family & Relationships

External links

# thistle

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /θɪsl̩/
**Frequency rank:** 34810

## Meanings
1. any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves
2. Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.
3. The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof.
4. This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.

## Examples
- I lost my ball in the thistle.
- Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [...].
- Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’.

## Derived Forms
- sow-thistle
- star-thistle
- starthistle
- thistledown
- thistlefinch
- thistly
- wood-thistle

## 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.

## Topics
- Family & Relationships

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