buckthorn

[buhk-thawrn]

noun

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

2. 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.

buckthorn

/ ˈbʌkˌθɔːn /

noun

1. 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 Rhamnaceae See also sea buckthorn

Word History and Origins

Origin of buckthorn¹

1570–80; buck ¹ + thorn, rendering New Latin cervi spina

Word History and Origins

Origin of buckthorn¹

C16: from _buck ¹ (from the spiny branches, imagined as resembling antlers) + _thorn

Example Sentences

In one dish that followed, sea buckthorn berries had been broken down into a cool soup in which nasturtium leaves floated like lily pads.

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This was no wilderness, but manicured groves of red-fringed switchgrass, buckthorn, elm, and black cherry, carefully tended to give the illusion of a wild space.

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Karstad, a chef, former culinary advisor to the legendary Noma team and father of four, knows that not all of us can raise our own chickens or have easy access to sea buckthorn.

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It contains sea buckthorn and evening primrose, but the secret weapon may be the black currant seed oil.

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If you somehow tick all those boxes in 2021, go for it with an included recipe for vodka cocktails topped with bracingly sour sea buckthorn juice.

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