blackthorn

[ blak-thawrn ]

noun

1. a shrub or tree of the genus Crataegus, as C. calpodendron.
2. a walking stick made of a blackthorn tree or shrub.
3. Also called sloe. a much-branched, thorny, Old World shrub, Prunus spinosa, having white flowers and small plumlike fruits.
4. pear haw.

blackthorn

/ ˈblækˌθɔːn /

noun

1. Also calledsloe a thorny Eurasian rosaceous shrub, Prunus spinosa , with black twigs, white flowers, and small sour plumlike fruits
2. a walking stick made from its wood

Word History and Origins

Origin of blackthorn¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, blackthorn is from Middle English blak thorn. See black, thorn

Example Sentences

There is little diversity on the majority of the 146-acre land, with nearly all fields grazed by sheep, but there are some wetter areas and some hedgerows of blackthorn, hawthorn, hazel, oak, gorse and holly.

From BBC

Sloe gin’s origins go back to the hedgerows of blackthorn bushes that served as fences all across England when common farmland was divvied up in the 17th century.

From Washington Times

And this is intriguing, because magpies typically construct their roofs out of hawthorn, blackthorn, and rose stems.

From National Geographic

This month they have mysteriously appeared among their favourite habitat: hawthorn and blackthorn trees on the edge of London, where I and other naturalists watched them flitting between hedgerows.

From BBC

Though shaped like a sea sponge or fungus, the newly-dubbed Blackthorn Salt is comprised of minerals that exist after Martian rocks interacted with water long ago.

From Salon