thornback

[ thawrn-bak ]

/ ˈθɔrnˌbæk /

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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.

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Origin of thornback

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

Words nearby thornback

thorium, thorium dioxide, thorium series, thorn, thorn apple, thornback, thornbill, thornbush, Thorndike, Thornhill, thorn in one's flesh

How to use thornback in a sentence

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
Still more comical and interesting is one of the spider-crabs, which may be called thornback.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
It has a little body, but very long legs, so that a big male thornback might cover eighteen inches in the stretch of its legs.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
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

It is quite easy to understand why the name of thornback was given to him.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood

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