star thistle

or star-thistle

noun

any of several naturalized Eurasian plants of the genus Centaurea, especially C. calcitrapa, having purplish, spiny flower heads.

Origin of star thistle

First recorded in 1570–80

Words Nearby star thistle

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

How to use star thistle in a sentence

They are the yellow-flowered centaury, the mountain centaury, the star thistle and the rough centaury: the first predominates.
The Life of the Fly | J. Henri Fabre
What is known as the purple star thistle was named for Chiron the Centaur.
Birds and Nature Vol. 11 No. 1 [January 1902] | Various

British Dictionary definitions for star thistle

star thistle

noun

any of several plants of the genus Centaurea, esp C. calcitrapa, of Eurasia, which has spiny purplish flower heads: family Asteraceae (composites): See also centaury (def. 2)

Origin of star thistle

C16: so called because it has a thistle-shaped flower surrounded by radiating spines

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

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