Meanings
plural crowns of thorns
- ChristianityThe crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.First known use 10th c.
- A spiny Mediterranean tree, Ziziphus spina-christi.First known use 19th c.
- A spiny spurge, Euphorbia milii, native to Madagascar.First known use 19th c.
- The plant Koeberlinia spinosa.
- A woodworking technique, used in tramp art, in which interlocking pieces are notched to intersect at right angles and form joints and self-supporting objects.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsomewhat climbing bushy spurge of Madagascar having long woody spiny stems with few leaves and flowers with scarlet bracts
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀκάνθινος στέφανος
- Latinspinea corona
- Englishcrown of thorns
Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos).
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 荊棘王冠 /荆棘王冠, 荊棘冠 /荆棘冠
- 荊棘王冠 /荆棘王冠 (jīngjí wángguān)crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
- 荊棘冠 /荆棘冠 (jīngjíguān)crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
- 茨冠 (cíguān)crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Dutch doornenkroon
- doornenkrooncrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Finnish orjantappurakruunu, kruunujujuba
- orjantappurakruunucrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
- kruunujujubaZiziphus spina-christi
- piikkikruunuspiny spurge Euphorbia milii
German Dornenkrone
- Dornenkronecrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Hungarian töviskoszorú
- töviskoszorúcrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Irish Coróin Spíne
- Coróin Spínecrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Italian corona di spine
- corona di spinecrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Japanese 花麒麟
- 花麒麟 (hanakirin)spiny spurge Euphorbia milii
Latin spinea corona
- spinea coronacrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Polish korona cierniowa
- korona cierniowacrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Spanish corona de espinas
- corona de espinascrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Swedish törnekrona
- törnekronacrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Tagalog koronang tinik
- koronang tinikcrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Vietnamese mão gai
- mão gaicrown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear
Cite this entry
crown of thorns. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20of%20thorns
“crown of thorns.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20of%20thorns. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “crown of thorns,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/crown%20of%20thorns.
Source: crown of thorns on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.