hawthorn

plural hawthorns

1. countableuncountableAny of various shrubs and small trees of the genus Crataegus having small, apple-like fruits and thorny branches.

   Proust, an author to whom Humboldt had introduced me and in whose work he gave me heavy instruction, said he was often attracted to people whose faces had something in them of a hawthorn hedge in bloom.

   1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 59

   2 more examples

   “Sweet is the scent of the hawthorn, and sweet are the bluebells that hide in the valley, and the heather that blows on the hill. Yet Love is better than Life, and what is the heart of a bird compared to the heart of a man?”

   1888, Oscar Wilde, “The Nightingale and the Rose”, in The Happy Prince and Other Tales, London: Duckworth, published 1928, page 45

   In fact, a railway lined with hedgerows and shrubs would be perfect for reliability and biodiversity. Hawthorn, for example, can take a good cut and grow back strongly, while still providing shelter for creatures and acting as a natural fence line. Even palisade fencing can be climbed by a determined trespasser, but a good-size hawthorn hedge, lined with thorns and the inevitable brambles, is a serious obstacle.

   2025 October 1, Dr Neil Strong, “Managing linesides”, in RAIL, number 1045, page 15

   Synonyms: albaspine, may, maythorn, may tree, quickthorn, whitethorn

plural Hawthorns

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. Numerous places:
   1. countableuncountableAn inner suburb of Melbourne in the City of Boroondara, Victoria, Australia.
   2. countableuncountableA suburb of Adelaide in the City of Mitcham, South Australia.
   3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish in County Durham, England (OS grid ref NZ4145).
   4. countableuncountableA hamlet in Four Marks parish, East Hampshire district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU6733).
   5. countableuncountableA suburban area in Pontypridd community, Rhondda Cynon Taf borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST0987).
   6. countableuncountableA borough in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States.