thistledown
noun
thistledown is spelled T-H-I-S-T-L-E-D-O-W-N: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 180,281st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thistledown means “The soft, feathery pappus attached to the seeds of a thistle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thistledown is thistledowns.
How many letters and syllables are in thistledown?
| Letters | 11: T-H-I-S-T-L-E-D-O-W-N |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 35 million words; the 180,281st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is thistledown?
Thistledown appears about once in every 35 million words in written English, the 180,281st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Forms of thistledown
- thistledowns plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thistledown mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The soft, feathery pappus attached to the seeds of a thistle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thistledown in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense pappus attached to the seeds of a thistle:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | vilano, vilano de cardo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thistledown come from?
From thistle + down.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).