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

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

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

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