thornback

[thawrn-bak]

noun

a skate, Raja clavata, of European waters, having short spines on the back and tail.

a California ray, Platyrhinoidis triseriatus, belonging to the guitarfish group.

Nearby words

Origin of thornback

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at thorn, back¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for thornback

"Antient maides" were held in little esteem by him; not one thornback is on his list.
Customs and Fashions in Old New England|Alice Morse Earle
The Thornback Skate is covered with prickles (placoid scales).
Stories of the Universe: Animal Life|B. Lindsay
The Thornback is another ugly fellow of this family, having spines on his back and a double row of them down his tail.
Within the Deep|R. Cadwallader Smith
The boy gave a curious half-sad smile, without turning his eyes from the thornback, and said nothing.
Weighed and Wanting|George MacDonald

It is these purses, and those of the thornback and the edible skate, that we oftenest pick up on the English coast.
Science in Arcady|Grant Allen

British Dictionary definitions for thornback

thornback

noun

a European ray, Raja clavata, having a row of spines along the back and tail

a similar fish, Platyrhinoidis triseriata, of the Pacific Ocean

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