thorny

Etymology

From Middle English thorny, þorny, þorni, from Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. Equivalent to thorn +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈθɔːni/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈθɔɹni/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)ni

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

thorny (comparative thornier, superlative thorniest)

1. Having thorns or spines

   Synonyms: prickly, spiny

2. (figuratively) Troublesome or vexatious
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     the steep and thorny way to heaven

   • 2008 July 15, Keith Goetzman, “Is Fan Fiction Flouting the Law?”, in Utne Reader:

     Westcott doesn’t even consider the thornier question of fan fiction based on real and often living people, for instance, the “bandslash” or “bandfic” phenomenon built around rock-star characters and often homoerotic subplots.

   • 2017 September 28, Ana Swanson, “How the Trump Administration Is Doing Renegotiating Nafta”, in The New York Times‎:

     Six weeks into the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the thorniest issues surrounding the pact remain unresolved.

   • 2021 October 10, Caroline Anders, “A TikTok bone salesman’s wall of spines reignites ethical debate over selling human remains”, in The Washington Post‎:

     Museums have recently begun to confront the same thorny question, with several issuing public apologies for collecting the remains of people believed or known to have been enslaved.

3. Aloof and irritable
   • 1868, Louisa May Alcott, Good Wives:

     Come, Jo, don't be thorny. After studying himself to a skeleton all the week, a fellow deserves petting, and ought to get it.

Anagrams

• rhyton

Etymology 1

From Old English þorniġ, from Proto-West Germanic *þornag. Equivalent to thorn +‎ -y.

Etymology 2