Thistle

Definition: Thistle

Thistle

Noun

1. Any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves.

Date "thistle" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1596. (references)

Etymology: Thistle \This"tle\, noun. [from Old English expression thistil, Anglo-Saxon [thorn]istel; akin to Dutch German distel, Old High German. distila, distil, Icelandic [thorn]istill, Swedish tistel, Danish tidsel; of uncertain origin.]. (references)

Domain	Definition
Bible	Thistle (1.) Heb. hoah (2 Kings 14:9; Job 31:40). In Job 41:2 the Hebrew word is rendered "thorn," but in the Revised Version "hook." It is also rendered "thorn" in 2 Chr. 33:11; Prov. 26:9; Cant. 2:2; "brambles" in Isa. 34:13. It is supposed to be a variety of the wild plum-tree, but by some it is regarded as the common thistle, of which there are many varieties in Palestine. (2.) Heb. dardar, meaning "a plant growing luxuriantly" (Gen. 3:18; Hos. 10:8); Gr. tribolos, "a triple point" (Matt. 7:16; Heb. 6:8, "brier," R.V. "thistle"). This was probably the star-thistle, called by botanists Centaurea calcitropa, or "caltrops," a weed common in corn-fields. (See THORNS.). Source: Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Levity	Light as a feather, light as a thistle, light as air; lighter than air; rise like a balloon, float like a balloon.
	Feather, dust, mote, down, thistle, down, flue, cobweb, gossamer, straw, cork, bubble, balloon; float, buoy; ether, air.
Sharpness	Beard, chevaux de frise, porcupine, hedgehog, brier, bramble, thistle; comb; awn, beggar's lice, bur, burr, catchweed, cleavers, clivers, goose, grass, hairif, hariff, flax comb, hackle, hatchel, heckle.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain

Usage

Tongue Twisters

Six thick thistle sticks. (references; author: unknown)

Theopholus Thistle, the successful thistle sifter, successfully sifted some thistles. (references; author: unknown)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
References	Thistle Group Holdings, Inc.: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) Thistle Hotels Plc: International Competitive Benchmarks and Financial Gap Analysis (reference) (more reference examples)

Books	Sherlock Holmes and the Thistle of Scotland (reference) Thistle and Thyme: Tales and Legends from Scotland (reference) Thistle Greens and Mistletoe: Edible and Poisonous Plants of Northern California (reference) THISTLE GROUP HOLDINGS, CO.: Labor Productivity Benchmarks and International Gap Analysis [DOWNLOAD: ADOBE READER] (reference) Thistle Princess (reference) (more book examples)

Periodicals	Canada Thistle (reference) (more periodical examples)

Theater & Movies	Mr. Whistle's Thistle - The Wondrous Story of Creation (reference) (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music	The Thistle & the Rose, Songs of Robert Burns (reference) (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Consumer Goods	Paperproducts Design Thistle Paper Beverage Napkins, Package of 15 (reference) (more baby examples; more wireless phone examples; more garden examples; more kitchen examples; more tool examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	Yellowstar Thistle rootsnoxious Weed. Credit: Roger Rosentreter.		This thistle is one of a group of noxious weeds that has invaded NM. Credit: M'Lee Beazley.
	Campground in Snake River abandoned due to Scotch Thistle. Credit: Jerry Asher.		Pulling yellowstar thistle in the Pueblo Wilderness Study Area in the Pueblo Mountains. Rick Hall in the picture. Credit: Jerry Asher.
	Frosted Thistle along East Evans Creek. Credit: Terry Tuttle.		Unknown white thistle at Upper Trail. Credit: Terry Tuttle.
	Artwork by Erik Heyl, 1957, for use in his book "Early American Steamers", Volume III. Built in Scotland in 1863, Thistle was a blockade runner until captured on 4 June 1864. She served as USS Dumbarton in 1864-1867 and was the merchantman Dumbarton in 1867-1868. Rerigged and reengined in 1868, she operated under the British flag as the SS City of Quebec until sunk in a collision on 1 May 1870. Credit: NAVY.		Thistle. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Russian thistle blown against fence. Pennington County, South Dakota. Credit: Library of Congress.		Hartford Textile Co., 1441 Broadway, New York City. Highland thistle. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Author	Quotation
Abraham Lincoln	I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Thistle" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 60.00% of the time. "Thistle" is used about 145 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)

Parts of Speech	Percent	Usage per 100 Million Words	Rank in English
Noun (singular)	60%	87	35,390
Noun (proper)	32.41%	47	49,740
Lexical Verb (base form)	7.59%	11	106,044
Total	100.00%	145	N/A

The following table summarizes the usage of "thistle" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified.

Name	Usage/Gender	Usage per 100 million Persons	Rank in USA
Thistle	Last name	400	20,487
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

The following table summarizes names derived from the word "thistle".
Name	Gender	Language	Meaning
Ahoah	N/A	Biblical	My thorn or thistle
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Country	Name	Country	Name
United Kingdom	Thistle Hotels Plc	USA	Thistle Group Holdings, Inc.
	(more examples...)

Expressions using "thistle": Barnaby's thistle ♦ BLESSED THISTLE ♦ blue thistle ♦ boar thistle ♦ brook thistle ♦ Bull thistle ♦ Canada thistle ♦ Carline thistle ♦ common carline thistle ♦ Cotton thistle ♦ creeping thistle ♦ european woolly thistle ♦ field thistle ♦ Fuller's thistle ♦ Fuller's thistle or weed ♦ Globe thistle ♦ golden thistle ♦ Hedgehog thistle ♦ holy thistle ♦ horse thistle ♦ lady's thistle ♦ melancholy thistle ♦ Melon thistle ♦ Milk Thistle ♦ musk thistle ♦ nodding thistle ♦ our Lady's mild thistle ♦ pine thistle ♦ Piney thistle ♦ plume thistle ♦ plumed thistle ♦ Russian thistle ♦ Saint Barnaby's thistle ♦ Scotch thistle ♦ sow thistle ♦ spear thistle ♦ St. Mary's Thistle ♦ star thistle ♦ stemless carline thistle ♦ swine thistle ♦ Thistle bird ♦ Thistle butterfly ♦ Thistle cock ♦ Thistle crown ♦ thistle down ♦ thistle finch ♦ Thistle funnel ♦ Torch thistle ♦ welted thistle ♦ white thistle ♦ woolly thistle ♦ yellow thistle. Additional references.
Hyphenated Usage
	Beginning with "thistle": thistle-bloom, thistle-cup, thistle-down, thistle-filled, thistle-like, thistle-seed, thistle-shaped.
	Ending with "thistle": sea-thistle, sow-thistle, star-thistle, yellow star-thistle.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.

Language		Translations for "thistle"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		gjembaç (spiny, thorn, thorny), gjemb gomari, carangth. (various references)

Arabic		‏شوك (acanthus, briar, golden thistle, thorn). (various references)

Blackfoot		isttstsissii. (various references)

Bulgarian		магарешки бодил, паламида и др. бодливи растения. (various references)

Chinese		薊 (cirsium). (various references)

Cornish		ascallen. (various references)

Czech		pcháè (teasel, Teazel, Teazle), bodlák. (various references)

Danish		tidselkugle (globe thistle), tidseljern (spud, thistle spud, weeder), tidselfugl (painted lady, thistle butterfly), tidsel (thisle), tornet tidsel (plumeless thistle, welted thistle), maelketidsel (holy thistle, milk thistle), apotekertidsel (blessed thistle), bakketidsel (carline thistle, stemless caroline), benediktinertidsel (blessed thistle), glatbladet tidselkugle (globe thistle), guldrod (golden thistle), guldtidsel (golden thistle), horsetidsel (bull thistle, fuller's thistle, spear thistle), kåltidsel (cabbage thistle, water thistle), kaaltidsel (meadow distaff, water thistle), kaertidsel (marsh thistle), agertidsel (Canada thistle, corn thistle, creeping thistle), lille tidselbladlus (thistle aphid), marietidsel (holy thistle, milk thistle), nikkende tidsel (musk thistle, nodding thistle), slangehoved (blue thistle, common viper's-bugloss, viper's-bugloss), soelvtidsel (carline thistle, stemless caroline), stjernetidsel (star thistle), stor blommebladlus (thistle aphid), stor knopurt (greater knapweed, scabious star thistle), kruset tidsel (crisped thistle, welted thistle). (various references)

Dutch		taptrechter (dropping funnel, tap-funnel, thistle funnel), trechter met kraan (dropping funnel, tap-funnel, thistle funnel), tengere distel (seaside thistle, slenderflower thistle, winged slender thistle), kale jonker (marsh thistle), grote centaurie (greater knapweed, scabious star thistle), gezegende distel (blessed thistle), gewoon slangekruid (blue thistle, common viper's-bugloss, viper's-bugloss), driedistel (carline thistle), kalikruid (prickly saltwort, Russian thistle), distelvink (goldfinch), kogeldistel (globe thistle), disteltang (spud, thistle spud, weeder), distelschaar (spud, thistle spud, weeder), distelkortstaartluis (thistle aphid), distelhaak (spud, thistle spud, weeder), distelvlinder (painted lady, thistle butterfly), akkerdistel (Canada thistle, corn thistle, creeping thistle), knikkende distel (musk thistle, nodding thistle), Zuid-Europese kogeldistel (globe thistle), kruldistel (crisped thistle, welted thistle), mariadistel (holy thistle, milk thistle), moesdistel (cabbage thistle, meadow distaff, water thistle), onkruidsteker (spud, thistle spud, weeder), Scolymus (golden thistle), speerdistel (bull thistle, fuller's thistle, spear thistle), veeldoorndistel (plumeless thistle, welted thistle), veeldoornige distel (plumeless thistle, welted thistle), wegdistel (cotton thistle, Scotch thistle), zilverdistel (stemless carline thistle), kalketrip (star thistle). (various references)

Farsi		تاتاری (Tatar), شوک مبارک , شوک , بوته خار, باداور. (various references)

Finnish		ohdake. (various references)

French		chardon (golden thistle, thisle). (various references)

German		Distel (thisle). (various references)

Greek		γαϊδουράγκαθο (cotton thistle, holy thistle, milk thistle, Scotch thistle). (various references)

Hebrew		שמיר (brier, conservable, dill), קמוש, קוץ (acantha, Spike, spine, thorn), קרדה (acarina), דרדר (centaury, thorn), גדילן (silybum). (various references)

Hungarian		bogáncs (bur, burr). (various references)

Italian		cardo (teasel, Teazle). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		薊 (artichoke). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		あざみ (artichoke). (various references)

Manx		onnane. (various references)

Papago		ho'ithkam-ihwagi (sow thistle). (various references)

Pig Latin		istlethay.(various references)

Portuguese		cardo (burr, cardoon). (various references)

Romanian		scaiete, ciulin. (various references)

Romany		haranoo korloo. (various references)

Russian		чертополох. (various references)

Scottish		gìogan (a thistle). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		čkalj. (various references)

Spanish		cardo (thisle). (various references)

Swedish		tistel. (various references)

Turkish		devedikeni (creeping thistle, golden thistle, sawwort). (various references)

Turkmen		garamandalak. (various references)

Ukrainian		чортополох, будяк. (various references)

Welsh		ysgallyn, ysgallen. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	Anuraphis cardui, Brachycaudus cardui, carduus, Carduus acanthoides L., Carduus crispus L., Carduus lanceolatus Hill, Carduus nutans L., Centaurea calcitrapa, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium lanceolatum, Cirsium oleraceum, Cirsium oleraceum Scop., Cirsium palustre, Cirsium vulgare, Cirsium vulgare Ten./Airy-Shaw, Echinops ritro, Echinops ruthenicus, Echinops sphaerocephalus L., Echium vulgare, Onopordum acanthium L., Scolymus, Silybum marianum. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Language	Date	Source	Hosea Chapter 10, Verse 8
Greek (transliterated)	250 BC	Septuagint	Kai exarqhsontai bwmoi wn amarthmata tou israhl akanqai kai triboloi anabhsontai epi ta qusiasthria autwn kai erousin toiV oresin kaluyate hmaV kai toiV bounoiV pesate ef' hmaV
Latin	405	Vulgate	Et disperdentur excelsa idoli peccatum Israhel lappa et tribulus ascendet super aras eorum et dicent montibus operite nos et collibus cadite super nos
Middle English	1395	Wyclif	And the heey thingis of ydol, the synne of Yrael, shulen be distruyed. Cloote and breere shal stye on the auters of hem. And thei shuln seye to mounteyns, Hille ye vs, and to smale hillis, Falle ye vpon vs.
Jacobean English	1611	King James	The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Victorian English	1833	Webster	The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
Basic English	1964	Ogden	And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will come to destruction; thorns and waste plants will come up on their altars; they will say to the mountains, Be a cover over us; and to the hills, Come down on us.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Language	Hosea Chapter 10, Verse 8
Cebuano	Ingon man ang hatag-as nga mga dapit sa Aven, ang sala sa Israel, pagalumpagon: ang tunok ug kadyapa manubo sa ilang mga halaran; ug sila manag-ingon sa mga bukid: Taboni kami; ug sa mga bungtod: Pangatumpag kamo kanamo.
Croatian	Bit æe razorene sramne uzvišice, grijeh Izraelov; trnje æe i èièak rasti po žrtvenicima njihovim. Tad æe govoriti brdima: "Pokrijte nas!" i bregovima: "Padnite na nas!"
Danish	Øde er Afgudshøjene, Israels Synd, og på deres Altre skal Torn og Tidsel gro. De siger til Bjergene: "Skjul os!" til Højene: "Fald ned over os!"
Dutch	En de hoogten van Aven, Israels zonde, zullen verdelgd worden; doornen en distelen zullen op hunlieder altaren opkomen; en zij zullen zeggen tot de bergen: Bedekt ons! en tot de heuvelen: Valt op ons!
Finnish	Aavenin uhrikukkulat, Israelin synti, hävitetään; orjantappuraa ja ohdaketta on kasvava heidän alttareillansa. Ja he sanovat vuorille: "Peittäkää meidät", ja kukkuloille: "Langetkaa meidän päällemme".
German	Die Höhen zu Aven sind vertilgt, durch die sich Israel versündigte; Disteln und Dornen wachsen auf ihren Altären. Und sie werden sagen: Ihr Berge bedeckt uns! und: Ihr Hügel, fallt über uns!
Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari	Kuil-kuil di bukit-bukit di Betel tempat orang Israel menyembah berhala, akan dihancurkan. Duri dan rumput akan tumbuh pada mezbah mereka. Lalu mereka akan berteriak kepada gunung-gunung, "Tutupilah kami!" dan kepada bukit-bukit, "Timpalah kami!"
Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama	Sebab segala panggung di Awen, yaitu dosa orang Israel, sudah dibinasakan, dan duri dan onak tumbuh pada segala mezbahnya, mereka itu akan berkata kepada segala gunung: Tudunglah akan kami! dan kepada segala bukit: Timpalah kepada kami!
Italian	Le alture dell'iniquità, peccato d'Israele, saranno distrutte, spine e rovi cresceranno sui loro altari; diranno ai monti: «Copriteci» e ai colli: «Cadete su di noi».
Maori	Ka whakakahoretia ano nga wahi tiketike o Awene, te hara o Iharaira; ka puta ake te tataramoa me te tumatakuru ki runga ki a ratou aata, a ka mea ratou ki nga maunga, Taupokina matou; ki nga pukepuke, E hinga ki runga ki a matou.
Norwegian	Og Avens offerhauger, Israels synd, skal tilintetgjøres; torner og tistler skal skyte op på deres altere, og de skal si til fjellene: Skjul oss! og til haugene: Fall over oss!
Rumanian	Knqlyimile din Bet-Aven, unde a pqcqtuit Israel, vor fi nimicite; spini wi mqrqcini vor crewte pe altarele lor. Wi vor zice munyilor: ,,Acoperiyi-ne!`` Wi dealurilor: ,,Cqdeyi peste noi!``
Spanish	Los lugares altos de Avén, que son el pecado de Israel, serán destruidos. Sobre sus altares crecerán espinos y cardos. Dirán a los montes: "¡Cubridnos!", y a las colinas: "¡Caed sobre nosotros!"
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "thistle": thistledown, thistledowns, thistles. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Thistle" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: thisle, thist, thristle, thustle, thyst, tjistle. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "thistle" (pronounced thi"sul)
4	-i" s u l	antimissile, bristle, dismissal, epistle, fissile, gristle, missal, missel, missile, whistle.
3	-s u l	apostle, Axel, axle, basal, brasil, bustle, cancel, capsule, Castle, colossal, consul, council, counsel, diesel, dispersal, docile, dorsal, facile, fossil, gracile, Hansel, Hassel, hassle, housel, hustle, imbecile, stencil, tassel, Tattersall, tensile, Tercel, jostle, microfossil, morsel, mucosal, muscle, mussel, Nestle, parcel, Passel, pencil, pixel, Proconsul, rehearsal, reversal, rustle, tinsel, tonsil, Tressel, trestle, tussle, universal, unsell, utensil, vassal, vessel, wrestle.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Direct Anagrams: lithest.
	Words within the letters "e-h-i-l-s-t-t"
	-1 letter: shtetl, theist, tilths, tithes, titles.
	-2 letters: heils, heist, hilts, islet, istle, lithe, shiel, stile, stilt, teths, tiles, tilth, tilts, tithe, title.
	-3 letters: elhi, eths, heil, hest, hets, hies, hilt, hist, hits, isle, leis, lest, lets, lies, list, lite, lits, sett, silt, site, sith, slit, stet, tels, test, teth, tets, this, ties, tile, tils.
	Words containing the letters "e-h-i-l-s-t-t"
	+1 letter: blithest, lathiest, lightest, thelitis, thistles, whittles.
	+2 letters: athletics, filthiest, heliostat, pettishly, slightest, tallithes, thistlier, whittlers.
	+3 letters: asphaltite, battleship, biathletes, blotchiest, cuttlefish, earthliest, ethologist, flightiest, ghastliest, ghostliest, healthiest, heliostats, hesitantly, lengthiest, lintwhites, metalsmith, polytheist, sightliest, silhouette, stealthier, stealthily, theistical, thelitises, thistliest, tholeiites, thriftless, wealthiest, whitetails.
	+4 letters: aesthetical, alightments, asphaltites, atheistical, athleticism, battleships, cholestatic, earthlights, ethnologist, ethologists, habilitates, hectoliters, hostilities, kittenishly, lethalities, lithophytes, lithotomies, metalsmiths, novelettish, philatelist, polytheists, shmaltziest, silhouetted, silhouettes, splotchiest, spotlighted, stealthiest, streetlight, telepathies, telephonist, theatricals, theodolites, thiopentals, thiosulfate, thistledown, triathletes.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

Expression	Frequency per Day	Expression	Frequency per Day
milk thistle	645	thistle victoria hotel	19
thistle	354	bull thistle	19
thistle hotel	279	thistle hotel uk	17
thistle hotel london	117	thistle flower	17
scottish thistle	71	partick thistle	16
shamrock thistle	60	russian thistle	16
thistle marble arch	37	thistle feeder	16
blessed thistle	37	london tower thistle hotel	15
thistle kensington palace	35	thistle picture	15
canadian thistle	28	thistle tower	15
thistle victoria	27	down thistle	14
canada thistle	26	scotland thistle	13
thistle tower hotel	25	picture scottish thistle	13
musk thistle	24	thistle kensington garden	13
thistle plant	22	thistle weed	12
globe thistle	21	thistle hill	12
thistle marble arch hotel	20	thistle seed	12
thistle lancaster gate	19	thistle euston	12
bee inn thistle	19	thistle kensington park	11
boat sail thistle	19	thistle hotel lancaster gate	11
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.


"Poly thistle 1" by Kenneth Love Commentary: "An italian greyhound. images might be good for dog food/health work."	"Thistle" by Harald Wittmaack Commentary: "...shot down somewhere in nature..."
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers.

Thistle

Definition: Thistle

Thistle

Noun

Specialty Definition: Thistle

Synonyms within Context: Thistle

Levity

Sharpness

Crosswords: Thistle

Modern Usage: Thistle

Tongue Twisters

Commercial Usage: Thistle

References

Books

Periodicals

Theater & Movies

Music

Consumer Goods

Image Slideshow: Thistle

Photos:Thistle

Illustrations:Thistle

Computer Images:Thistle

Photo Album: Thistle

Digital Photo Gallery: Thistle

Familiar Quotations: Thistle

Abraham Lincoln

Usage Frequency: Thistle

Name Usage Frequency: Thistle

Derived & Related Names: Thistle

Usage in Company Names: Thistle

Thistle Hotels Plc

Thistle Group Holdings, Inc.

Expressions: Thistle

Frequency of Internet Keywords: Thistle

Modern Translation: Thistle

Albanian

Arabic

Blackfoot

Bulgarian

Chinese

Cornish

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Farsi

Finnish

French

German

Greek

Hebrew

Hungarian

Italian

Japanese Kanji

Japanese Katakana

Manx

Papago

Pig Latin

Portuguese

Romanian

Romany

Russian

Scottish

Serbo-Croatian

Spanish

Swedish

Turkish

Turkmen

Ukrainian

Welsh

Ancestral Language Translations: Thistle

Bible Trace: Thistle

Matched Bible Translations: Thistle

Derivations & Misspellings: Thistle

Derivations

Misspellings

Rhyming with "Thistle"

Anagrams: Thistle

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

INDEX

Photos:
Thistle

Illustrations:
Thistle

Computer Images:
Thistle