thorn

B2 Topic:Plants & Agriculture

US /θɔːrn/ UK /θɔːn/ See IPA manual

Freq #10304

Meanings

1

noun
a hard, sharp-pointed growth on a plant, botanically often a modified stem or branch

A thorn caught the sleeve of her jacket as she passed the hedge.
2

noun
a person or thing that causes persistent trouble or annoyance, especially in the phrase a thorn in someone's side

The unresolved boundary dispute remained a thorn in the council's side.
3

noun
the historical Germanic letter þ, used for sounds now usually written th

The letter thorn appears frequently in Old English manuscripts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a hard, sharp-pointed... spine prickle

2 noun · a person or thing that... irritant nuisance vexation

3 noun · the historical germanic... thorn letter

Word family

Forms thorns

Derived forms thornythornless

Related forms briar spine prickle

Appears in

Proverbs (1)

See all

No rose without a thorn

Simplified etymology

Thorn is an Old English word and is among the earliest English words on record, first attested before AD 700.

Etymology

From Middle English thorn, from Old English þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz. The same Old English word named both the plant spine and the runic letter þ, whose shape and name continued in medieval writing.

Topics

Plants & Agriculture Register & Style

External links

# thorn

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /θɔːrn/
**IPA (UK):** /θɔːn/
**Frequency rank:** 10304

## Meanings
1. a hard, sharp-pointed growth on a plant, botanically often a modified stem or branch
2. a person or thing that causes persistent trouble or annoyance, especially in the phrase a thorn in someone's side
3. the historical Germanic letter þ, used for sounds now usually written th

## Examples
- A thorn caught the sleeve of her jacket as she passed the hedge.
- The unresolved boundary dispute remained a thorn in the council's side.
- The letter thorn appears frequently in Old English manuscripts.

## Synonyms
- spine
- prickle
- irritant
- nuisance
- vexation

## Derived Forms
- thorny
- thornless

## Related Forms
- briar
- spine
- prickle

## Etymology
From Middle English thorn, from Old English þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz. The same Old English word named both the plant spine and the runic letter þ, whose shape and name continued in medieval writing.

## Topics
- Plants & Agriculture
- Register & Style

markdown