thorn
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source: By Alpsdake - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
noun
1. a stiff, sharp-pointed, straight or curved woody projection on the stem or other part of a plant.
(植物の)とげ, 針(→ flower )
a source of discomfort, annoyance, or difficulty; an irritation or obstacle:
心配［苦労］の種
e.g. the issue has become a thorn in renewing the peace talks. See also a thorn in someone's side below.
2. (also thorn bush or thorn tree) a thorny bush, shrub, or tree, especially a hawthorn.
いばら; とげのある植物〘hawthornなど〙
3. an Old English and Icelandic runic letter, Þ or þ, representing the dental fricatives | T͟H| and |TH|. In English it was eventually superseded by the digraph th. Compare with eth.so named from the word of which it was the first letter.
(古英語の)ソーン(の文字)〘þ; 近代英語のthに相当〙
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:
e.g. the pastor has long been a thorn in the side of the regime.
DERIVATIVES
thornless |ˈTHôrnləs| adjective
thorn (sense 1)
thornproof |ˈTHôrnˌpro͞of| adjective
thorn (sense 1)
ORIGIN
Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch doorn and German Dorn.