thornback

American  

[thawrn-bak] / ˈθɔrnˌbæk /

noun

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

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

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thornback British  

/ ˈθɔːnˌbæk /

noun

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

2. a similar fish, Platyrhinoidis triseriata, of the Pacific Ocean

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Etymology

Origin of thornback

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at thorn, back ¹

Example Sentences

Those which I remember to have seen there, of the kinds that are not eaten, are the whale, porpus, shark, dog-fish, garr, stingray, thornback, saw-fish, toad-fish, frog-fish, land-crab, fiddler, and periwinckle.

From The History of Virginia, in Four Parts by Beverley, Robert

FISH.—Barbel, brill, carp, cod, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whitings.

From The Book of Household Management by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)

Those which I remember to have seen there of the kinds that are not eaten are the whale, porpoise, shark, dogfish, gar, stingray, thornback, sawfish, toadfish, frogfish, land crabs, fiddlers, and periwinkle.

From The Bounty of the Chesapeake Fishing in Colonial Virginia by Wharton, James

FISH.—Barbel, brill, carp, crabs, crayfish, dace, eels, flounders, haddocks, herrings, lampreys, lobsters, mussels, oysters, perch, pike, plaice, prawns, shrimps, skate, smelts, soles, sprats, sturgeon, tench, thornback, turbot, whiting.

From The Book of Household Management by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)

These include perch; bream; the john-dory; carp; barbel; salmon; pike; trout; sturgeon; the shark; thornback; lamprey; turbot; plaice; sole; flounder; cod; haddock; &c.

From How to See the British Museum in Four Visits by Jerrold, W. Blanchard