throstle

T1H4R1O1S1T1L1E1
/ˈθɹɒsəl/

noun

A song thrush.

Similar
song thrushmavisTurdus philomelos
Scrabble 11

Meanings

nounthrostle (plural throstles)

plural throstles · alternative obsolete throstell

  1. archaicdialectalA song thrush.

    [T]hro' wild March the throstle calls, […]

    1851 March, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, “To the Queen”, in The Works of Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1884, →OCLC, page 1
    3 more examples

    The Throstell, with shrill Sharps; as purposely he song / T’awake the lustlesse Sunne; or chyding, that so long

    1612, Michael Drayton, “Song 13”, in [John Selden], editor, Poly-Olbion. Or A Chorographicall Description of Tracts, Riuers, Mountaines, Forests, and Other Parts of this Renowned Isle of Great Britaine, […], London: […] [Humphrey Lownes] for M[athew] Lownes; I[ohn] Browne; I[ohn] Helme; I[ohn] Busbie, →OCLC, page 214

    The throstle is by some believed to be the finest singing bird in Britain, on account of the sweetness, variety, and continuance of its melody.

    1804, Anthony Florian Madinger Willich, James Mease, The Domestic Encyclopaedia: or, A Dictionary of Facts and Useful Knowledge, page 115

    O Lady! in this wan and heartless mood / To other thoughts by yonder throstle woo'd

    1802, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Dejection: An Ode, lines 25-26
  2. A machine for spinning wool, cotton, etc., from the rove, consisting of a set of drawing rollers with bobbins and flyers, and differing from the mule in having the twisting apparatus stationary and the processes continuous.

    THE RING THROSTLE. / A Throstle under the above title has been recently introduced from America, the principal novel feature of which, is a substitute for the flyer and heavy spindle of the common throstle, and for the cone or cape, and the barrel tube of the Danforth throstle.

    1836, James Montgomery, The Theory and Practice of Cotton Spinning, or, The Carding and Spinning Master’s Assistant, page 223

Synonyms & antonyms

nouncommon Old World thrush noted for its song

Similar
song thrushmavisTurdus philomelos
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*trosdos
  2. Proto-West Germanic*þrostlā
  3. Old Englishþrostle
  4. Middle Englishthrostle, throstel
  5. Englishthrostle

From Middle English throstle, throstel, from Old English þrostle, from Proto-West Germanic *þrostlā, possibly altered from or a diminutive of *þurstaz, related to *þrastuz, from Proto-Indo-European *trosdos.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Drossel
  • Drosselsong thrush
Russian пе́вчий дрозд
  • пе́вчий дрозд (pévčij drozd)song thrush

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with throstle

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

throstle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throstle

MLA

“throstle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throstle. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throstle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throstle.

Source: throstle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.