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Glite Dictionary
thistledown

thistledown

1 8.9
Soft feathery bits on thistle seeds that float in the wind
  • noun
  • /ˈθɪsəlˌdaʊn/
translation icon : pluma de cardo
  • Children chased after the drifting thistledown, marveling at how light and feathery it appeared.

Examples

  • The thistledown floated gracefully through the air, carried by the gentle breeze.

  • She was present when Sadie's Dream, owned by her aunt's family, won the 1994 Rose DeBartolo Memorial Stakes at Thistledown in Ohio.

    Blog text (24)

  • "I am dandelion seed and thistledown.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • For she was not only beautiful, she was proud and fiery, as prickly as a thorn... yet soft as thistledown.

    Robin Hood (1991)

  • The goldfinches in the yard pecked tiny gold seeds from clumps of thistledown.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Because the hope of the ungodly is like thistledown carried by the wind, and like a light frost driven away by a storm; it is dispersed like smoke before the wind, and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.

    Blog text (7)

  • Even without the time-honored single horn in the middle of the forehead, it would be impossible to confuse these entrancing beasts with the most thistledown-footed thoroughbred.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • With a puff, she blew away the luminous thistledown and nameless creature and watched as they caught an updraft and soared until they disappeared skyward as the souls of the dead are claimed to do.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • As the wind picked up, the thistledown scattered in all directions, helping the thistle seeds to find new ground.

Synonyms

down
vsthistledown
34 4.8

Soft, fine feathers on young birds and under adult feathers

is plant seed hair used to help seeds travel in the wind
pappi
vsthistledown
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Fine hairs on seeds that help them float in the wind

is limited to one plant's seeds rather than many plants

Surface Forms

thistledown singular
thistledowns plural

Morphology

thistledown = thistle + down (transparent) = thistle + down

The compound directly names the soft 'down' from a thistle, so knowing both components makes the meaning clear.

Etymology

The word thistledown combines thistle and down. It means the soft, 'feathery' fluff from a thistle that floats on the wind like bird down, carrying seeds away.