Meaning and Origin
What does the name Thorn mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Thorn
User Submitted Origins
English
65%
Fiction
18%
Scandinavian
18%
User Submitted Meanings
- A user from Nebraska, U.S. says the name Thorn means "Sharp".
- A submission from California, U.S. says the name Thorn means "A character from Wings of Fire; the queen of the SandWings".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Thorn
Senses
- A hard and sharp-pointed projection from a woody stem; usually, a branch so transformed; a spine.
- [Bot] Any shrub or small tree which bears thorns; especially, any species of the genus Cratægus, as the haw thorn, white thorn, cockspur thorn.
- Fig.: That which pricks or annoys as a thorn; anything troublesome; trouble; care."There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me." [2 Cor. xii. 7.]"The guilt of empire, all its thorns and cares, Be only mine." [Southern.]
- The name of the Anglo-Saxon letter �, capital form �. It was used to represent both of the sounds of English th, as in thin then. So called because it was the initial letter of thorn, a spine.
Etymology: AS. þorn; akin to OS. & OFries. thorn, D. doorn, G. dorn, Dan. torn, Sw. törne, Icel. þorn, Goth. þaúrnus; cf. Pol. tarn, Russ. tern' the blackthorn, ternie thorns, Skr. tṛṇa grass, blade of grass. √53
verb Thorn
To prick, as with a thorn.
Other Dictionary Sources
- Something that causes irritation and annoyance ("he's a thorn in my flesh")
- A Germanic character of runic origin
- A small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf
Wiktionary
- A topographic surname for someone living near a thorn bush.
Thorn was also found in the following language(s): German and Westrobothnian