Show Search Results Show Browse

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BURR-THISTLE, BUR-, -THRISTLE, Burrie-, Burry —, n. comb. The spear thistle, Carduus lanceolatus. Also fig. Gen.Sc. [′bʌr(ɪ̢) ′θɪsl, -′θrɪsl, -′θrɪ̢sl]Sc. 1829 Wilson Noctes Amb. (1855) II. 235:
Kames was “gleg as ony wummle,” and . . . a real rough Bur-Thistle.
Mry. 1873 J. Brown Round Table Club 249:
A heid like a burrie-thristle.
Abd. 1906 J. Christie in Bnffsh. Jnl. (3 July) 3:
But they cud snod their burry thristles.
Peb. 1805 J. Nicol Poems II. 5:
The purple-tapt, bur-thristle there, Auld Scotland's fame supportit.
Ayr. 1787 (publ. 1800) Burns Guidwife of Wauchope House (Cent. ed.) ii.:
The rough burr-thistle spreading wide Amang the bearded bear.

[Eng. burr, the prickly seed vessel of a plant, + Th(r)istle.]

You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.

"Burr-thistle n. comb.". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 2 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/burrthistle>

5145

snd

Hide Advanced Search

Browse SND:

    Loading...

Share: