Meanings
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1
noun
the thornback ray or skate, Raja clavata, a ray with rough skin and rows of thornlike spines along its back and tail
The survey recorded a thornback resting on the sandy seabed.
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2
noun
historical and derogatory: an unmarried woman considered older than a spinster
The satire used thornback as a contemptuous label for an unmarried older woman.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of thorn + back. The fish was named for the thornlike spines on its upper surface. The later social sense extended the image of prickliness into a disparaging label for an unmarried woman and is now only historical.