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Any shrub or small tree which bears thorns; especially, any species of the genus Cratægus, as the hawthorn, whitethorn, cockspur thorn.

Having a head armed with thorns or spines. Thorn-headed worm (Zoöl.), any worm of the order Acanthocephala; -- called also thornhead.

A European skate (Raia clavata) having thornlike spines on its back.

Any one of several species of small, brilliantly colored American birds of the genus Rhamphomicron. They have a long, slender, sharp bill, and feed upon honey, insects, and the juice of the sugar cane.

e ovenbirds of the genus Furnarius). It builds a very large and complex nest of twigs and thorns in a bush or tree.

The turbot.

Destitute of, or free from, thorns.

Set with thorns. Dyer.

A beautiful South American humming bird (Gouldia Popelairii), having the six outer tail feathers long, slender, and pointed. The head is ornamented with a long, pointed crest.

Full of thorns or spines; rough with thorns; spiny; as, a thorny wood; a thorny tree; a thorny crown.

An instrument of the saxhorn family, used exclusively in military music, often replacing the French horn. Grove.

A spreading thorny shrub or small tree (Prunus spinosa), with blackish bark, and bearing little black plums, which are called sloes; the sloe.

A plant of the genus Lycium, esp. Lycium barbarum.

nus) of shrubs or trees. The shorter branches of some species terminate in long spines or thorns. See Rhamnus. Sea buckthorn, a plant of the genus Hippophaë.

The common European starfish (Asterias rubens).

The buckthorn (Rhamnus Purshiana) of the Pacific coast of the United States, which yields cascara sagrada.

One of several prickly or thorny shrubs found in Palestine, especially the Paliurus aculeatus, Zizyphus Spina-Christi, and Z. vulgaris. The last bears the fruit called jujube, and may be considered to have been the most readily obtainable for the Crown of Thorns.

A variety of the common hawthorn. Loudon.

A thorny shrub or tree (the Cratægus oxyacantha), having deeply lobed, shining leaves, small, roselike, fragrant flowers, and a fruit called haw. It is much used in Europe for hedges, and for standards in gardens. The American hawthorn is Cratægus cordata, which has the leaves but little lobed. Gives not the hawthorn b…

Hawthorn. R. Scot.