a small, sharp, pointed growth on the stem of a plant: Rose bushes have thorns.
What is the letter thorn? Here's an example: in Old English, a letter called thorn (þ) represented the th sound (as in that) in Modern English. In the Latin alphabet, the Y was the symbol that most closely resembled the character that represented thorn. So, thorn was dropped and Y took its place.
Word forms: thorns
Thorns are the sharp points on some plants and trees, for example, on a rose bush. Roses will always have thorns but with care they can be avoided. A thorn or a thorn bush or a thorn tree is a bush or tree which has a lot of thorns on it. ...
The thorn character is part of the runic alphabet, which English used to be, and still can be, written in. The Norman conquest of 1066 was the end of the runic alphabet for English, though to be sure, the roman alphabet had been used for a long time to write English down before this happened.
Thorn or þorn (Þ, þ) is a letter in the Old English, Old Norse, Old Swedish, and modern Icelandic alphabets, as well as modern transliterations of the Gothic alphabet, Middle Scots, and some dialects of Middle English.
Thorn (Þ, þ)
The y is really used to substitute for the letter thorn, derived from the runic alphabet of Futhark, and it's pronounced like "th", as in the word "the".
/ (θɔːn) / noun. a sharp pointed woody extension of a stem or leafCompare prickle (def. 1) any of various trees or shrubs having thorns, esp the hawthorn.
1) Keyboard shortcut The easiest way, if you are using a full-size keyboard, is to use a keyboard shortcut, using the number set (NUMPAD) to the right. Hold down the ALT key and press 0222 for uppercase thorn (Þ) or 0254 for lowercase thorn (þ). For yogh, it is ALT + 0540 (Ȝ) or ALT + 0541 (ȝ).
Denoting sin, sorrow and hardship, the thorn is one of the most ancient symbols in the world; together with the ROSE, it represents pain and pleasure, and the thorn is an emblem of Christ's passion, as with the crown of thorns.
Old English was first written in runes (futhorc) but shifted to a (minuscule) half-uncial script of the Latin alphabet introduced by Irish Christian missionaries from around the 8th century. This was replaced by Insular script, a cursive and pointed version of the half-uncial script.
This is because early printing fonts had to be imported from Germany and Italy, where there was no sign for thorn. It was the thinking then that the letter y most closely resembled the thorn, so printers substituted it with a y. And that's why we have those cheesy “Ye Old” shop signs now.
According to the English for Students website, j, q, and z occur the least if you analyze the frequency of each letter in the entries of the 11th Concise Oxford Dictionary.
There are four letters which we don't use any more ('thorn', 'eth', 'ash' and 'wynn') and two letters which we use but which the Anglo-Saxons didn't ('j' and 'v'). Until the late Old and early Middle English period, they also rarely used the letters 'k', 'q' and 'z'.
All told, approximately 600 words were borrowed from Latin during the Old English period. Often, the Latin word was severely restricted in sense, and was not widespread in use among the general populace. Latin words tended to be literary or scholarly terms and were not very common.
THORN (noun) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary.
Verb. thorn (third-person singular simple present thorns, present participle thorning, simple past and past participle thorned)
Modern usage
The phrase "thorn in the flesh" continues to be used as a metaphor for "a source of continual annoyance or trouble". It is synonymous with the phrase "thorn in the side", which is also of biblical origin, based on the description in Numbers 33:55.
adjective, thorn·i·er, thorn·i·est. abounding in or characterized by thorns; spiny; prickly. thornlike. overgrown with thorns or brambles.
An "example sentence" is a sentence written to demonstrate usage of a particular word in context. An example sentence is invented by its writer to show how to use a particular word properly in writing. Such examples are placed following a given definition, to make it clear which definition they illustrate.
[M] [T] I will give you this book. [M] [T] Let me say this just once. [M] [T] This coffee is too bitter. [M] [T] This glass contains water.
The word thorn typically refers to a sharp projection. There are no categorical antonyms for this word. However, one could loosely refer to, e.g., a smooth surface as an antonym.