thistle

American  

[this-uhl] / ˈθɪs əl /

noun

1. any of various prickly, composite plants having showy, purple flower heads, especially of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum.

2. any of various other prickly plants.

---

Thistle ¹ British  

/ ˈθɪsəl /

noun

1. See Order of the Thistle

2. (sometimes not capital)

   1. the emblem of this Order

   2. membership of this Order

---

thistle ² British  

/ ˈθɪsəl /

noun

1. any of numerous plants of the genera Cirsium, Carduus , and related genera, having prickly-edged leaves, pink, purple, yellow, or white dense flower heads, and feathery hairs on the seeds: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. a thistle, or a representation of one, as the national emblem of Scotland

---

Other Word Forms

• thistlelike adjective
• thistly adjective

Etymology

Origin of thistle

before 900; Middle English thistel, Old English; cognate with Dutch distel, German Distel, Old Norse thistill

Example Sentences

Among England's Tudor rose, Scotland's thistle, the Welsh leek and the Irish shamrock are the Canadian maple leaf and India's lotus flower.

From BBC

But Russian thistle is a monstrous piece of botanical grotesquerie, loathed by all.

From The Wall Street Journal

He wears goggles to protect them from brambles and thistles.

From BBC

Researchers from the University of Cologne have found a new use for Cnicin, a substance produced in blessed thistle.

From Science Daily

Saturday’s tumbleweed takeover of South Jordan is not isolated, but it’s also not a fiendish plan by the invasive Russian thistle to conquer the western United States.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• arrow
• dart