Recent Examples on the WebBut how can the thistle survive, much less bloom, when its neighbors are reduced to twigs and dust?—Elizabeth Anne Brown, Scientific American, 27 Feb. 2024 Adjacent to the installation lies Where the soil has been disturbed, a 2022 work that consists of a field of free-standing steel panels fronted by concrete bricks from which petrified Syrian thistles grow.—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019 There’s an image in this piece that looks like a topographical map of a river valley, which is paired with a drawing of a woman next to a thistle.—Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 3 Sep. 2019 The butterflies are attracted to over 100 different kinds of flowers, states Gardenia, but prefer flowers from the Family Asteraceae, like thistles.—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 13 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for thistle
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thistle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English thistel, from Old English; akin to Old High German distill thistle
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of thistle was
before the 12th century
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