sow thistle

[ sou ]

/ saʊ /

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noun

any composite plant belonging to the genus Sonchus, especially S. oleraceus, a weed having thistlelike leaves, yellow flowers, and a milky juice.

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Origin of sow thistle

1200–50; Middle English sowethistel, earlier sugethistel.See sow², thistle

Words nearby sow thistle

sower, Soweto, so what, sown, sow one's wild oats, sow thistle, sow wild oats, soy, soya bean, soybean, soybean oil

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sow thistle in a sentence

Two species of Sow-thistle (genus Sonchus) are included among our wayside Composites.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux
The common sow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus) grows all over the country up to an elevation of 6000 feet.
Darwinism (1889)|Alfred Russel Wallace
The Sow-thistle is considered by astrologers to be under the dominion of Venus.
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics|Richard Folkard
Many grasslands have a stand of dandelions; sow thistle, wild lettuce, and ragweed were also common in some grasslands.
Natural History of the Prairie Vole (Mammalian Genus Microtus)|E. W. Jameson

The channel had become filled with reeds, and great quantities of enormous milk or sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceous).
Australia Twice Traversed, The Romance of Exploration|Ernest Giles

British Dictionary definitions for sow thistle

sow thistle

/ (saʊ) /

noun

any of various plants of the Old World genus Sonchus, esp S. oleraceus, having milky juice, prickly leaves, and heads of yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)Also called: milk thistle, (NZ) puha, (NZ) rauriki

Word Origin for sow thistle

C13: from sugethistel, perhaps variant of Old English thugethistel, thuthistel thowthistle, a dialect name of the sow thistle. See sow ², thistle

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