a small sharp, pointed part on the stem of some plants, such as roses (玫瑰之类植物的)刺,棘刺 Topics Plants and treesc2a tree or bush that has thorns see also blackthorn, hawthorn带刺的树;荆棘 the letter that was used in Old English and Icelandic to represent the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ and later written as th Topics Languagec2刺形符,字母 ð(古英语和古冰岛语用的字母,表示 /θ/ 和/ð/ 的发音,后书写为 th)
Word OriginOld English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch doorn and German Dorn.
Idioms
a thorn in somebody’s flesh/side
a person or thing that repeatedly annoys somebody or stops them from doing something 不断让人烦心的人(或事);肉中刺;眼中钉