thistle
THIS-uhl · noun
Origin
Thistle comes from Middle English thistel, from Old English þistel, from Proto-West Germanic *þistil, from Proto-Germanic *þistilaz. That in turn traces to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to prick," *(s)teyg-.
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Journey
The word has stayed remarkably steady in form and meaning across its Germanic history, always naming the same spiny plant.
Related words
The English word stick comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to prick," making it a distant relative of thistle. Cognates in other Germanic languages include Scots thrissel, German Distel, Dutch distel, and Old Norse/Icelandic þistill.
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