buckthorn

[ buhk-thawrn ]

/ ˈbʌkˌθɔrn /

noun

any of several, sometimes thorny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Rhamnus, especially R. frangula, the bark of which is used in medicine.Compare buckthorn family.

a tree or shrub belonging to the genus Bumelia, of the sapodilla family, especially B. lycioides, a thorny tree having elliptic leaves and large clusters of white flowers, common in the southern and part of the central U.S.

Nearby words

buckshot, buckskin, buckskins, buckstay, bucktail, buckthorn, buckthorn family, bucktooth, buckwheat, buckwheat cake, buckwheat coal

Origin of buckthorn

1570–80; buck¹ + thorn, rendering New Latin cervi spina

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for buckthorn

The fields were divided by hedges, made of a closely-leaved green shrub, somewhat resembling—in the leaf—our buckthorn.
Three Times and Out|Nellie L. McClung
The moth flies in late June and in July, and may be disturbed in the daytime from buckthorn bushes.
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series|Richard South
I gave him a dose of syrup of buckthorn, and put him on a diet of pot-liquor and vegetables till further orders.
The Moonstone|Wilkie Collins
If there is no diarrhœa, but constipation, a small dose of castor oil or syrup of buckthorn should be given.
Our Cats and All About Them|Harrison Weir

Sap′-green, a green colouring matter from the juice of buckthorn berries; Sap′head, a silly fellow.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for buckthorn

buckthorn

/ (ˈbʌkˌθɔːn) /

noun

any of several thorny small-flowered shrubs of the genus Rhamnus, esp the Eurasian species R. cathartica, whose berries were formerly used as a purgative: family RhamnaceaeSee also sea buckthorn

Word Origin for buckthorn

C16: from buck 1 (from the spiny branches, imagined as resembling antlers) + thorn

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