thorn

 
Pronunciation: /θɔːn/

noun

  • 1a stiff, sharp-pointed woody projection on the stem or other part of a plant.
  • a source of discomfort, annoyance, or difficulty; an irritation or obstacle: the issue has become a thorn in renewing the peace talks
  • 2 (also thorn bush or thorn tree) a thorny bush, shrub, or tree, especially a hawthorn.
  • 3an Old English and Icelandic runic letter, þ or Þ, representing the dental fricatives /ð/ and /θ/. It was eventually superseded by the digraph th. Compare with eth.
    [so named from the word of which it was the first letter]
  • 4a yellowish-brown woodland moth which rests with the wings raised over the back, with twig-like caterpillars.
    • Ennomos and other genera, family Geometridae

Phrases

there is no rose without a thorn

proverb every apparently desirable situation has its share of trouble or difficulty.

a thorn in someone's side (or flesh)

a source of continual annoyance or trouble: the pastor has long been a thorn in the side of the regime

Derivatives

thorned

adjective

thornless

adjective

thornlike

adjective

thornproof

adjective

Origin:

Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch doorn and German Dorn