Definition of "thistle" []

• Any of numerous weedy plants, chiefly of the genera Cirsium, Carduus, or Onopordum of the composite family, having prickly leaves and variously colored flower heads surrounded by prickly bracts. (noun)
• Any of various similar or related plants. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It's the flower of France, you know – just as the thistle is the – '"
• "I have made the Scotch Thistle Lace Stole in "thistle-y" colors and had it with me when we toured Scotland in 07."
• "The thistle is armed with sharp prickles; the mallow is soft and woolly."