sow thistle

[ sou ]
/ saʊ /

noun

any composite plant belonging to the genus Sonchus, especially S. oleraceus, a weed having thistlelike leaves, yellow flowers, and a milky juice.

Origin of sow thistle

1200–50; Middle English sowethistel, earlier sugethistel. See sow2, thistle

Words nearby sow thistle

Example sentences from the Web for sow thistle

British Dictionary definitions for sow thistle

sow thistle
/ (saʊ) /

noun

any of various plants of the Old World genus Sonchus, esp S. oleraceus, having milky juice, prickly leaves, and heads of yellow flowers: family Asteraceae (composites) Also called: milk thistle, (NZ) puha, (NZ) rauriki

Word Origin for sow thistle

C13: from sugethistel, perhaps variant of Old English thugethistel, thuthistel thowthistle, a dialect name of the sow thistle. See sow ², thistle