: any of various composite (see compositeentry 1 sense 1b) flowering plants (especially genera Carduus, Cirsium, and Onopordum) that have prickles on their leaves and sometimes on their stems and often have showy heads of tubular, usually purple flowers
also: any of various other prickly plants
2
often thistle seed plural thistle seeds: the small black seed of a tropical African herbaceous plant (Guizotia abyssinica) used especially as a source of oil and for bird feed
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Canada thistle is the most common thistle in home lawns.—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2025 The ground between the trees was overgrown with thistle.—Ben Ehrenreich, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025 Much of the green is from invasive weeds, including wild oats, thistle and mustard planted by ranchers who worked this land for more than 150 years.—Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2025 Feeding the birds: Nyjer seed, also known as thistle seed, is a must for attracting colorful finches.—Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for thistle
Word History
Etymology
Middle English thistel, from Old English; akin to Old High German distill thistle
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of thistle was
before the 12th century
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