cockspur

American  

[kok-spur] / ˈkɒkˌspɜr /

noun

1. a North American hawthorn, Crataegus crus-galli, having leathery, toothed leaves and red fruit, cultivated as a small ornamental tree.

2. a gaslight burner having three jets.

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cockspur British  

/ ˈkɒkˌspɜː /

noun

1. a spur on the leg of a cock

2. an annual grass, Echinochloa crus-galli, widely distributed in tropical and warm temperate regions

3. a small thorny North American hawthorn tree, Crataegus crus-galli

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Etymology

Origin of cockspur

First recorded in 1585–95; for cock's spur

Example Sentences

He used two types of burners, the Argand and the cockspur.

From Artificial Light Its Influence upon Civilization by Luckiesh, Matthew

There was a bush resembling our hawthorn, which, on examination, proved to be the cockspur hawthorn, with fruit as large as cherries, pulpy, and of a pleasant tartness not much unlike to tamarinds.

From The Backwoods of Canada Being Letters From The Wife of an Emigrant Officer, Illustrative of the Domestic Economy of British America by Traill, Catharine Parr Strickland

But to whomsoever is due the credit of its invention, certain is it that the batswing burner was a considerable improvement upon the old cockspur.

From Gas Burners Old and New by Merriman, Owen

Large plains, with thorny jungles and bushes of the long cockspur thorn interspersed, formed the character of the ground.

From The Rifle and the Hound in Ceylon by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

The cockspur thorn is a small, handsome tree, fifteen to twenty feet high, with stiff branches in a broad round head.

From Trees Worth Knowing by Rogers, Julia Ellen