| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024buck•thorn (buk′thôrn′),USA pronunciation n. - Plant Biologyany of several, sometimes thorny trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Rhamnus, esp. R. frangula, the bark of which is used in medicine. Cf. buckthorn family.
- Plant Biologya tree or shrub belonging to the genus Bumelia, of the sapodilla family, esp. B. lycioides, a thorny tree having elliptic leaves and large clusters of white flowers, common in the southern and part of the central U.S.
- buck1 + thorn, rendering Neo-Latin cervi spina 1570–80
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: buckthorn /ˈbʌkˌθɔːn/ n - any of several thorny small-flowered shrubs of the genus Rhamnus, esp the Eurasian species R. cathartica, whose berries were formerly used as a purgative: family Rhamnaceae
Etymology: 16th Century: from buck1 (from the spiny branches, imagined as resembling antlers) + thorn |