crown of thorns

/ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/

//ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz// noun

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

"crown-of-thorns" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“crown of thorns” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.

Corpus desk

Index EN-crown-of-thorns · crown of thorns · English

crown of thorns · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for crown of thorns
PropertyValue
Headwordcrown of thorns
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “crown of thorns” sits in English frequency

crown of thorns falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

crown of thorns is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for crown of thorns, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos). The correct English form is crown of thorns, spelled C-R-O-W-N- -O-F- -T-H-O-R-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    The crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.
  2. 2
    A spiny Mediterranean tree, Ziziphus spina-christi.
  3. 3
    A spiny spurge, Euphorbia milii, native to Madagascar.
  4. 4
    The plant Koeberlinia spinosa.
  5. 5
    Ellipsis of crown-of-thorns starfish
  6. 6
    A woodworking technique, used in tramp art, in which interlocking pieces are notched to intersect at right angles and form joints and self-supporting objects.

Etymology

Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos).

This word in other languages

couronne du Christ(Français)Dornenkrone(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "crown of thorns"?
"crown of thorns" is spelled C-R-O-W-N- -O-F- -T-H-O-R-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/.
What does "crown of thorns" mean?
As a noun, "crown of thorns" means: The crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.
How do you pronounce "crown of thorns"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "crown of thorns" is /ˌkɹaʊn əv ˈθɔːnz/. 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 "crown of thorns"?
Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos). 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.
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list