hawthorn

From Middle English hawthorn, going back to Old English hagaþorn or hæguþorn, from Proto-West Germanic *haguþorn. It's built from haw, meaning 'hedge, enclosure,' plus thorn.

The name has stayed remarkably literal — it's always described the thorny plant used to hedge or enclose land, straight from its Old English roots.

It shares its second half plainly with thorn, the very word for the sharp point that makes this tree so good at fencing something in.