blackthorn

/ˈblækˌθɔːn/

//ˈblækˌθɔːn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"blackthorn" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“blackthorn” is uncommon English (frequency #77,463 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#77,463
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A large shrub or small tree, Prunus spinosa, that is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. It has a dark bark and bears thorns.

Corpus desk

Index EN-blackthorn · blackthorn · English

blackthorn · rank #77,463 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #77,463
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH blanketing

Nearest frequency peer: blanketing (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “blackthorn”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “blackthorn” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for blackthorn
PropertyValue
Headwordblackthorn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈblækˌθɔːn/
Letters10
Frequency rank#77,463
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “blackthorn” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).blackthornfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “blanketing” (#77,464), “blotchy” (#77,465), “biosafety” (#77,460). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “blackthorn” is #77,463. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

blackthorn is uncommon English at frequency #77,463 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈblækˌθɔːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

blackthorn has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Compound of black + thorn. The correct English form is blackthorn, spelled B-L-A-C-K-T-H-O-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A large shrub or small tree, Prunus spinosa, that is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. It has a dark bark and bears thorns.
  2. 2
    A stick or staff taken from this tree.

Etymology

Compound of black + thorn.

Synonyms

sloe

This word in other languages

endrino(Español)prunellier(Français)Schlehe(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "blackthorn"?
"blackthorn" is spelled B-L-A-C-K-T-H-O-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈblækˌθɔːn/.
What does "blackthorn" mean?
As a noun, "blackthorn" means: A large shrub or small tree, Prunus spinosa, that is native to Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. It has a dark bark and bears thorns.
How do you pronounce "blackthorn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "blackthorn" is /ˈblækˌθɔːn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "blackthorn"?
Compound of black + thorn. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "blackthorn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

blanketing#77,464boondoggle#77,470buffoonery#77,487automatons#77,432

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list