Meanings
nounsow thistle (countable and uncountable, plural sow thistles)
plural sow thistles
- countableuncountableAny of the thistles in one of the genera Cicerbita and Sonchus.
The decoction of the roots of sow-thistle before meat, by the same author is much approved.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 1, subsection vi
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany of several Old World coarse prickly-leaved shrubs and subshrubs having milky juice and yellow flowers; widely naturalized; often noxious weeds in cultivated soil
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Ancient Greek σόγχος
- σόγχος (sónkhos)thistle
Arabic تِفَاف, جَعْضِيض
- تِفَاف (tifāf)thistle
- جَعْضِيض (jaʕḍīḍ)thistle
Basque kardabera
- kardaberathistle
Bulgarian кострец
- кострец (kostrec)thistle
Catalan lletsó
- lletsóthistle
Chinese Mandarin 荼
- 荼 (tú)thistle
Danish svinemælk, svinetidsel
- svinemælkthistle
- svinetidselthistle
- svinedildthistle
- turtthistle
Dutch melkdistel
- melkdistelthistle
Finnish valvatti, sinivalvatti
- valvattithistle
- sinivalvattithistle
French laiteron
- laiteronthistle
German Gänsedistel, Saudistel
- Gänsedistelthistle
- Saudistelthistle
- Milchlattichthistle
Greek ζοχός
- ζοχός (zochós)thistle
Irish bainne muice, bleachtán
- bainne muicethistle
- bleachtánthistle
- bleachtfheochadánthistle
- slóchtánthistle
Italian crespigno, sonco
- crespignothistle
- soncothistle
Māori pūwhā, pūhā
- pūwhāthistle
- pūhāthistle
- raurikithistle
- raurōroathistle
Norwegian turt, tort
- turtthistle
- tortthistle
- turtathistle
- tortathistle
Polish mlecz
- mleczthistle
Russian осо́т
- осо́т (osót)thistle
Scottish Gaelic cluaran-cruaidh
- cluaran-cruaidhthistle
Spanish cerraja
- cerrajathistle
Swedish torta, tolta
- tortathistle
- toltathistle
Turkish eşek marulu, kuzugevreği
- eşek maruluthistle
- kuzugevreğithistle
Ukrainian осо́т
- осо́т (osót)thistle
Cite this entry
APA
sow thistle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sow%20thistle
MLA
“sow thistle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sow%20thistle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sow thistle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sow%20thistle.
Source: sow thistle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.