blackthorn

(blăk'thôrn') pronunciation

A thorny deciduous Eurasian shrub (Prunus spinosa) having white flowers and small, bluish-black, plumlike fruits used chiefly for flavoring alcoholic beverages such as sloe gin. Also called sloe.

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Celtic Mythology: blackthorn

This thorny shrub (prunus spinosa) was thought to provide protection against ghosts in Ireland (cf. Modern Irish draighean) and has long been popular in lightweight walking-sticks. It should not be cut on 11 May or 11 November.

Columbia Encyclopedia: blackthorn

or sloe, low, spreading, thorny bush or small tree (Prunus spinosa) of the plum genus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), having black bark, white flowers, and deep blue fruits, usually rather acrid and not much larger than peas. Native to the Mediterranean area, the blackthorn is cultivated for hedges, its limbs are used in Ireland for canes and cudgels, and the juice of the berries is used in making brandy, sloe gin, and preserves and as a diluent of port. One of the hawthorns is sometimes called blackthorn. Blackthorn is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

WordNet: blackthorn

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a thorny Eurasian bush with plumlike fruits
Synonyms: sloe, Prunus spinosa

Meaning #2: erect and almost thornless American hawthorn with somewhat pear-shaped berries
Synonyms: pear haw, pear hawthorn, Crataegus calpodendron, Crataegus tomentosa

Did you mean: blackthorn (tree, plant), prunus spinosa, Blackthorne Publishing, sloe

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Copyrights:

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Celtic Mythology. A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. Copyright © James MacKillop 1998, 2004. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more

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