Sowthistle
/ˈsaʊˌθɪsəl/noun
A common prickly weed of the dandelion family, especially the genus Sonchus.
Did you know?Despite the eerie sound, sowthistle has no occult meaning in its name; the mystery is linguistic, not magical, and its modern form comes from Old English plant naming rather than a single dramatic compound.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
sūthistel / sūgþistel
“A thistle-like plant; the first element is obscure and may be connected to sowing or to a dialectal plant name.”
Middle English
ME
sowthistel
“A prickly weed or thistle-like plant.”
Modern English
English
sowthistle
“Any of several weedy plants in the genus Sonchus.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
sónkhos
“A plant name for sowthistle or a related wild herb.”
Latin
Latin
sonchus
“Borrowed plant name used by Roman writers for sowthistle.”