hawthorn

American

[haw-thawrn] / ˈhɔˌθɔrn /

noun

any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Crataegus, of the rose family, typically a small tree with stiff thorns, certain North American species of which have white or pink blossoms and bright-colored fruits and are cultivated in hedges.

hawthorn British

/ ˈhɔːˌθɔːn /

noun

Also called (in Britain): may. may tree. mayflower. any of various thorny trees or shrubs of the N temperate rosaceous genus Crataegus, esp C. oxyacantha, having white or pink flowers and reddish fruits (haws)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

hawthorny

adjective

Etymology

Origin of hawthorn

before 900; Middle English; Old English haguthorn, cognate with Middle Dutch hagedorn, Middle High German hagendorn, Old Norse hagthorn. See haw ³, thorn

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"HAWTHORN AND LAVENDER" Worthing has at least two literary associations.

From Highways and Byways in Sussex by Griggs, Frederick Landseer Maur

HAWTHORN, varieties of. -pyramidal. -pendulous hybridised. -changes of, by age. -bud-variation in the. -flower buds of, attacked by bullfinches.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication — Volume 2 by Darwin, Charles

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023