Meanings
plural gorses
- countableuncountableAn evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.
The hovel stood in the centre of what had once been a vegetable garden, but was now a patch of rank weeds. Surrounding this, almost like a zareba, was an irregular ring of gorse and brambles, an unclaimed vestige of the original common.
1944, Miles Burton, chapter 5, in The Three Corpse Trick1 more example
Hidden behind thickets of acronyms and gorse bushes of detail, a new great game is under way across the globe. Some call it geoeconomics, but it's geopolitics too. The current power play consists of an extraordinary range of countries simultaneously sitting down to negotiate big free trade and investment agreements.
2013 July 19, Timothy Garton Ash, “Where Dr Pangloss meets Machiavelli”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 18
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn evergreen shrub, of the genus Ulex, having thorns, spiny leaves, and yellow flowers.
More synonyms by meaning
nounvery spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-yellow flowers; common throughout western Europe
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*ǵʰer-“to bristle”
- Proto-West Germanic*gerstu“barley”
- Proto-Germanic*gurstaz
- Proto-West Germanic*gorst
- Old Englishgors
- Middle Englishgorst
- Englishgorse
From Middle English gorst, gors, from Old English gors, gorst, from Proto-West Germanic *gorst, from Proto-Germanic *gurstaz or Proto-West Germanic *gerstu (“barley”). Akin to German Gerste (“barley”) and Latin hordeum (“barley”). Also compare Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to bristle”), whence Proto-Celtic *garwos.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic جَوْلَق
- جَوْلَق (jawlaq)evergreen shrub
Basque ote
- oteevergreen shrub
Bulgarian пре́щип
- пре́щип (préštip)evergreen shrub
Catalan gatosa
- gatosaevergreen shrub
Chinese Mandarin 荊豆 /荆豆
- 荊豆 /荆豆 (jīngdòu)evergreen shrub
Czech hlodáš
- hlodáševergreen shrub
Danish tornblad
- tornbladevergreen shrub
Dutch gaspeldoorn
- gaspeldoornevergreen shrub
Esperanto ulekso
- uleksoevergreen shrub
Finnish piikkiherne
- piikkiherneevergreen shrub
French ajonc
- ajoncevergreen shrub
German Ginster, Stechginster
- Ginsterevergreen shrub
- Stechginsterevergreen shrub
Greek σπάρτος
- σπάρτος (spártos)evergreen shrub
Hebrew אולקס
- אולקס (aulex)evergreen shrub
Hungarian sünzanót, töviszanót
- sünzanótevergreen shrub
- töviszanótevergreen shrub
- sülbigeevergreen shrub
Icelandic hvinviður
- hvinviðurevergreen shrub
Irish aiteann, aiteannach
- aiteannevergreen shrub
- aiteannachevergreen shrub
Italian ginestrone, ginestra spinosa
- ginestroneevergreen shrub
- ginestra spinosaevergreen shrub
Māori kōti, kōhi
- kōtievergreen shrub
- kōhievergreen shrub
Portuguese tojeira, tojo
- tojeiraevergreen shrub
- tojoevergreen shrub
Russian дро́к, утёсник
- дро́к (drók)evergreen shrub
- утёсник (utjósnik)evergreen shrub
Scottish Gaelic conasg
- conasgevergreen shrub
Spanish tojo, aulaga
- tojoevergreen shrub
- aulagaevergreen shrub
- retamo espinosoevergreen shrub
Swedish ärttörne
- ärttörneevergreen shrub
Welsh eithinen, eithin
- eithinenevergreen shrub
- eithinevergreen shrub
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with gorse
Anagrams
Cite this entry
gorse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorse
“gorse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorse. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gorse,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gorse.
Source: gorse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.