Thorn Meaning
/θɔːn/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA modified branch that is hard and sharp like a spike.
nounAny thorn-like structure on plants, such as the spine and the prickle.
Sentence Examples
Every rose has its thorn.
Like a thorn stuck in your throat.
Just as a thorn stuck in one's throat.
CEFR Practice Quiz
I accidentally touched the rosebush and a sharp ____ stuck into my finger.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I accidentally pricked my finger on a sharp ____ while I was pruning the rose bushes in the garden today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English thorn, þorn, from Old English þorn, from Proto-West Germanic *þorn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnaz, from Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós, from *(s)ter- (“stiff”). Cognates Near cognates include West Frisian toarn, Low German Doorn, Dutch doorn, German Dorn, Danish and Norwegian torn, Swedish torn, törne, Gothic 𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌿𐍃 (þaurnus). Further cognates include Old Church Slavonic трънъ (trŭnŭ, “thorn”), Russian тёрн (tjorn), Polish cierń, Kamkata-viri taňi, tai (“thorn”), Sanskrit तृण (tṛ́ṇa, “grass”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"On the mountains a few junipers and piñons are found, and cactuses, agave, and yuccas, low, fleshy plants with bayonets and thorns."
— 1895, J[ohn] W[esley] Powell, chapter I, in Canyons of the Colorado, Meadville, PA: Flood & Vincent; republished as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons, New York: Dover, 1961, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 22:
"There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me."
— 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Corinthians 12:7:
"The guilt of empire, all its thorns and cares, / Be only mine."
— 1692–1717, Robert South, Twelve Sermons Preached upon Several Occasions, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London:
"In Old English manuscripts thorn and eth did not have different phonetic values but were used positionally[.]"
— 1985, Robert Burchfield, The English Language, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 175:
"[…] human nature is, above all things, lazy, and needs to be thorned and goaded up those heights where it ought to fly."
— 1869, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Old Town Folks:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
I accidentally touched the rosebush and a sharp ____ stuck into my finger.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I accidentally pricked my finger on a sharp ____ while I was pruning the rose bushes in the garden today.