blackthorn

American  

[blak-thawrn] / ˈblækˌθɔrn /

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.

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blackthorn British  

/ ˈblækˌθɔːn /

noun

1. Also called: sloe.  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

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Etymology

Origin of blackthorn

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

Example Sentences

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

From National Geographic • Jul. 17, 2023

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 • Jun. 4, 2023

The hole has the only tree at Royal St. George’s, a stunted blackthorn right of the green.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 9, 2021

Inside were bonsaied blackthorn, clovers and violets; on them, or in the soil below, were hidden hundreds of butterfly eggs and hibernating caterpillars.

From The Guardian • Oct. 13, 2020

Behind them, struggling to keep pace, Amolf Karstark came hobbling, leaning on his blackthorn cane.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin