Thistledown
/ˈθɪs.əl.daʊn/noun
The soft, fluffy seed hairs of a thistle, carried by the wind.
Did you know?The second half, down, comes from an old word for fine, feather-like fluff—so thistledown is basically a thistle’s airborne seed parachute, not a magical invention.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*steig-
“to prick or pierce”
Old English
OE
þistel
“thistle, a spiny prickly plant”
Old English
OE
dūn
“fine fluff, soft down; also later a hill”
Middle English
ME
thistel-doune
“the fluffy seed hairs of a thistle”
Modern English
English
thistledown
“the light, feathery pappus of a thistle seed”