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thistle

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thistle¹

  • /θɪsl̩/
  • /fɪsəl/

Sounds like fistle (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ɪsəl

Where it comes from

From Middle English thistel, from Old English þistel, from Proto-West Germanic *þistil, from Proto-Germanic *þistilaz. *þīh- from *teyg-, which is a variant of Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to prick”); from this same Proto-Indo-European root comes English stick.

Cognates include Scots thrissel, German Distel, Dutch distel, and Old Norse and Icelandic þistill.

noun thistles

  1. Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field [...].
  2. This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
  3. An image of this plant used as a charge.
  4. The Order of the Thistle, or membership thereof. Here's a passage which will please you: ‘It is said that when rich he twice refused the thistle.’

Thistle²

Where it comes from

English surname from the noun thistle. Anglicized sources include German Distel and Norwegian Tistel (see tistel).

proper noun Thistles

  1. A surname.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: sow, wheelchair, queue, chaser, pitcher, starthistle, stemless thistle, way thistle, sow thistle, spear thistle, cotton thistle, star thistle, melancholy thistle, globe thistle, pasture thistle, star-thistle

Translations

Every language

noun plant

Españolcardo
한국어엉겅퀴 eonggeongkwi
日本語薊 azami, アザミ azami
中文薊 /蓟 jì
Portuguêscardo
Françaischardon
DeutschDistel
Italianocardo
Ελληνικάγαϊδουράγκαθο gaïdourágkatho
Românăscaiete, ciulin
Русскийчертополо́х čertopolóx
עבריתקוֹץ qotz

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MLA

"thistle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/thistle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

thistle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/thistle

Chicago

"thistle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/thistle.

BibTeX
@misc{thistle_2026,
  title = {thistle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/thistle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}