THORNILY

Etymology

Adverb

thornily (comparative more thornily, superlative most thornily)

In a thorny manner.

Source: Wiktionary


THORNY

Thorn"y, a. [Compar. Thornier; superl. Thorniest.] Etym: [Cf. AS. Ăľorniht.]

1. Full of thorns or spines; rough with thorns; spiny; as, a thorny wood; a thorny tree; a thorny crown.

2. Like a thorn or thorns; hence, figuratively, troublesome; vexatious; harassing; perplexing. "The thorny point of bare distress." Shak. The steep and thorny way to heaven. Shak. Thorny rest-harrow (Bot.), rest-harrow.

– Thorny trefoil, a prickly plant of the genus Fagonia (F. Cretica, etc.).

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 June 2025

OWNER

(noun) (law) someone who owns (is legal possessor of) a business; “he is the owner of a chain of restaurants”


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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