thorny
See also: Þorný
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. Equivalent to thorn + -y.
Pronunciation
edit- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈθɔːni/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈθɔɹni/
- Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ni
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Adjective
editthorny (comparative thornier, superlative thorniest)
- Having thorns or spines
- (figuratively) Troublesome or vexatious
- c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- the steep and thorny way to heaven
- 2008 July 15, Keith Goetzman, “Is Fan Fiction Flouting the Law?”, in Utne Reader:
- Westcott doesn’t even consider the thornier question of fan fiction based on real and often living people, for instance, the “bandslash” or “bandfic” phenomenon built around rock-star characters and often homoerotic subplots.
- 2017 September 28, Ana Swanson, “How the Trump Administration Is Doing Renegotiating Nafta”, in The New York Times[1]:
- Six weeks into the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the thorniest issues surrounding the pact remain unresolved.
- 2021 October 10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post[2]:
- Museums have recently begun to confront the same thorny question, with several issuing public apologies for collecting the remains of people believed or known to have been enslaved.
- Aloof and irritable
- 1868, Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives:
- Come, Jo, don't be thorny. After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it.
Derived terms
editTranslations
edithaving thorns
|
troublesome
|
Anagrams
editMiddle English
editEtymology 1
editFrom Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. Equivalent to thorn + -y.
Alternative forms
editPronunciation
editAdjective
editthorny
- Having many thorns or spines; thorny.
- (rare) Covered in thorny plants.
- (rare) Having a shape like a thorn.
Descendants
editReferences
edit- “thornī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-09-12.
Etymology 2
editVerb
editthorny
- Alternative form of thornen
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms suffixed with -y (adjectival)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)ni
- Rhymes:English/ɔː(ɹ)ni/2 syllables
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- Middle English terms suffixed with -y
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English adjectives
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- Middle English verbs
- enm:Botany