The story
First attested in 1633; named for the scent of its immature flower heads.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
musk thistle
Today it means: A biennial herb of species Carduus nutans, in the sunflower family Asteraceae with a large drooping purple flower head, native to parts of Eurasia and North Africa and a common invasive species elsewhere. Full definition →