sow-thistle
(saʊˈθɪs(ə)l)
Also sowthistle, sow thistle. Forms: (see sow n.1 and thistle n.).
[Early ME. suȝeþistel, perh. an alteration of the earlier þuȝe-, þ{uacu}þistel (see thow-thistle), but cf. also OHG. sûdistel, MLG. sudistel, sögedistel, G. saudistel, as the name of various plants. Down to the 17th c. usually written as one word.]
1. One or other of the species of Sonchus; a plant belonging to this genus, esp. S. oleraceus and S. asper, common European weeds characterized by their sharply-toothed thistle-like leaves and milky juice.
| a 1250 MS. Bodley 130 lf. 37 b, Cardun, sugeþithstel. a 1387 Sinon. Barthol. (Anecd. Oxon.) 37 Rostrum porcinum, sowethistel. 14.. Medical MS. in Anglia XIX. 84 Take þe sow-thystill & late hym sethyn in whyt wyn. c 1450 Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.) 89 Labrum ueneris,..sough thistil. c 1475 MS. Bodley 536 lf. 16 b, Labrum veneris, sowthestell, when y⊇ [stalk?] is broke he droppes mylke. And he beris ȝowlo floure. 1539 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 28 b, I suppose that Southistel and Dentdelyon, be of like qualities [to cichory]. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 44 The other that be Sommer Weedes, as Sowthystell, and all other Thystels. 1639 O. Wood Alph. Bk. Secrets 70 Sorrell, Succory, Dandelion, and Sowthistle. 1653 W. Blithe Eng. Improver Impr. 110 When any of these Rich Lands shall..Over-grow with Weeds, Nettles, Hemlocks, Sow-Thistles, &c. c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. viii. lxxx, A Sowthistle with purple Flowers. 1770 G. White Selborne xxxviii, Milky plants, such as lettuces, dandelions, sow-thistles, are its favourite dish. 1845–50 A. H. Lincoln Lect. Bot. 208 This is very observable in the sowthistle, Sonchus arvensis. 1855 Delamer Kitchen Garden (1861) 106 Even although we may be inclined to refuse the sowthistle [as a salad-plant]. |
| fig. 1644 Milton Educ. (1738) 136 We have now to hale and drag our choicest and hopefullest wits to that asinine feast of sowthistles and brambles, which is commonly set before them. |
| attrib. and Comb. 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Thistle, The purple-flowered field-Cirsium, with..sow-thistle leaves. Ibid., The..sow-thistle-leaved field-Cirsium. |
b. Applied to species of the allied genera
Lactuca and
Prenanthes. ?
Obs.| a 1387 Sinon. Barthol. (Anecd. Oxon.) 27 Lactucella,..sowethistel. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 327 Sow Thistle, Prenanthes. |
2. With distinguishing or descriptive terms, as
blue sow-thistle,
common sow-thistle,
corn sow-thistle,
marsh sow-thistle,
prickly sow-thistle (etc.)
sow-thistle;
broad-sow-thistle,
round-sow-thistle,
spiny-leaved sow-thistle,
blue-,
small-,
white-flowered sow-thistle (see
quots.).
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 674 Sonchus canadensis. *Blue Sowthistle. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxi. 231 Sonchus flore cæruleo. *Blew flowred Sowthistle. |
| Ibid. 230 Sonchus læuis latifolius. *Broad leafed Sow-thistle. |
| 1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Sonchus, The *common sowthistle is..recommended..as a refrigerant. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 240/2 The most common species is the Sonchus oleraceus, the common sow-thistle. |
| 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 674 Sonchus arvensis. *Corn, or Tree Sowthistle. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Plants III. 200 Corn Sow-thistle, Milk-thistle. |
| 1771 Encycl. Brit. III. 617/2 The [sonchus] palustris, or *marsh sow-thistle. 1889 Science-Gossip XXV. 45/2, I found the marsh sow-thistle growing abundantly in this district. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxi. 229 Sonchus asper. *Prickly Sowthistle. 1725 Fam. Dict., Sow-Thistle,..a Plant of which there are two sorts, viz. the Hare's-Thistle and prickly Sow-Thistle. |
| 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 363 Sonchus asper. *Rough Sow Thistle. |
| c 1710 Petiver Cat. Ray's Eng. Herbal Tab. xiv, *Round leav'd Sowthistle. |
| 1853 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. II. 34 The *Small-flowered Sow-Thistle (Sonchus Floridanus). |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal 229 Hares lettuce or *smooth Sow⁓thistle. 1725 Fam. Dict. s.v., The smooth Sow-Thistle has the same Properties as the other. 1758 Phil. Trans. L. 513 Smooth or unprickly Sowthistle, Hares Lettuce. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxi. 231 Sonchus flore niueo. *Snowe white Sowthistle. |
| 1847 Darlington Amer. Weeds (1860) 206 The *Spiny-leaved Sow-thistle (S. asper). |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxi. 231 Sonchus arborescens. *Tree Sowthistle. 1766 Museum Rust. VI. 444 Tree Sowthistle [S. arvensis]. The root is very creeping, full of milk, and with difficulty eradicated. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. xxxi. 230 Sonchus læuis flore albo. *White flowred Sowthistle. |
| Ibid. 231 Sonchus syluaticus. *Wood Sowthistle. |
b. downy sow-thistle,
Tangier sow-thistle (see
quots.).
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 327 Tangier Sow Thistle, Scorzonera. Ibid. 329 Downy Sow Thistle, Andryala. |