noun
Freq #271295
Meanings
-
1
noun
the soft, feathery hairs attached to ripe thistle seeds that help the wind carry them
Thistledown drifted across the field in the afternoon breeze.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of thistle + down, recorded in the sixteenth century. Down here means soft, fine, featherlike material, referring to the plumose pappus that carries a thistle's ripe seed on the wind.