English

hookthorn

From hook + thorn.

A compound of hook + thorn

Proto-Germanic *hōkaz

Proto-West Germanic *hōk

Old English hōc ‘hook’

Middle English hoke

English hook

Proto-Indo-European *tr̥nós ‘sharp, stiff’

Proto-Germanic *þurnaz ‘thorn, briar’

Proto-West Germanic *þorn ‘thorn, briar’

Old English þorn

Middle English thorn ‘a thorn’

English thorn

Today it means

noun A prickly tree of southern Africa, Senegalia afra.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / hookthorn