thornen en · ADJ
Etymology
From Middle English thornen, from Old English þyrnen (“thorny, of thorns”), from Proto-West Germanic *þurnīn, from Proto-Germanic *þurnīnaz (“of thorns”), equivalent to thorn + -en.
Meanings
-
(dialectal, obsolete) Made of or consisting of thorns.
In that district it was a favourite remedy for scald head in a baby to hang cotton wool on a "thornen hedge" by moonlight.
1897, Frederick Hancock, The parish of Selworthy in the county of Somerset, page 233:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most thornen | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more thornen | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |