thornback

[ thawrn-bak ]

/ ˈθɔrnˌbæk /

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

thorium series, thorn, thorn apple, thorn in one's flesh, thorn moth, thornback, thornbill, thornbush, thorndike, thorndike, dame sybil, thorndike, edward lee

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

/ (ˈθɔːnˌbæk) /

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