Thistle \This"tle\, n. [OE. thistil, AS. [thorn]istel; akin to
D. & G. distel, OHG. distila, distil, Icel. [thorn]istill,
Sw. tistel, Dan. tidsel; of uncertain origin.] (Bot.)
Any one of several prickly composite plants, especially those
of the genera Cnicus, Craduus, and Onopordon. The name
is often also applied to other prickly plants.
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Blessed thistle, Carduus benedictus, so named because it
was formerly considered an antidote to the bite of
venomous creatures.
Bull thistle, Cnicus lanceolatus, the common large
thistle of neglected pastures.
Canada thistle, Cnicus arvensis, a native of Europe, but
introduced into the United States from Canada.
Cotton thistle, Onopordon Acanthium.
Fuller's thistle, the teasel.
Globe thistle, Melon thistle, etc. See under Globe,
Melon, etc.
Pine thistle, Atractylis gummifera, a native of the
Mediterranean region. A vicid gum resin flows from the
involucre.
Scotch thistle, either the cotton thistle, or the musk
thistle, or the spear thistle; -- all used national
emblems of Scotland.
Sow thistle, Sonchus oleraceus.
Spear thistle. Same as Bull thistle.
Star thistle, a species of Centaurea. See Centaurea.
Torch thistle, a candelabra-shaped plant of the genus
Cereus. See Cereus.
Yellow thistle, Cincus horridulus.
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Thistle bird (Zool.), the American goldfinch, or
yellow-bird (Spinus tristis); -- so called on account of
its feeding on the seeds of thistles. See Illust. under
Goldfinch.
Thistle butterfly (Zool.), a handsomely colored American
butterfly (Vanessa cardui) whose larva feeds upon
thistles; -- called also painted lady.
Thistle cock (Zool.), the corn bunting (Emberiza
militaria). [Prov. Eng.]
Thistle crown, a gold coin of England of the reign of James
I., worth four shillings.
Thistle finch (Zool.), the goldfinch; -- so called from its
fondness for thistle seeds. [Prov. Eng.]
Thistle funnel, a funnel having a bulging body and flaring
mouth.
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Cotton \Cot"ton\ (k[o^]t"t'n), n. [F. coton, Sp. algodon the
cotton plant and its wool, coton printed cotton, cloth, fr.
Ar. qutun, alqutun, cotton wool. Cf. Acton, Hacqueton.]
1. A soft, downy substance, resembling fine wool, consisting
of the unicellular twisted hairs which grow on the seeds
of the cotton plant. Long-staple cotton has a fiber
sometimes almost two inches long; short-staple, from two
thirds of an inch to an inch and a half.
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2. The cotton plant. See Cotten plant, below.
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3. Cloth made of cotton.
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Note: Cotton is used as an adjective before many nouns in a
sense which commonly needs no explanation; as, cotton
bagging; cotton cloth; cotton goods; cotton industry;
cotton mill; cotton spinning; cotton tick.
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Cotton cambric. See Cambric, n., 2.
Cotton flannel, the manufactures' name for a heavy cotton
fabric, twilled, and with a long plush nap. In England it
is called swan's-down cotton, or Canton flannel.
Cotton gin, a machine to separate the seeds from cotton,
invented by Eli Whitney.
Cotton grass (Bot.), a genus of plants (Eriphorum) of the
Sedge family, having delicate capillary bristles
surrounding the fruit (seedlike achenia), which elongate
at maturity and resemble tufts of cotton.
Cotton mouse (Zool.), a field mouse (Hesperomys
gossypinus), injurious to cotton crops.
Cotton plant (Bot.), a plant of the genus Gossypium, of
several species, all growing in warm climates, and bearing
the cotton of commerce. The common species, originally
Asiatic, is Gossypium herbaceum.
Cotton press, a building and machinery in which cotton
bales are compressed into smaller bulk for shipment; a
press for baling cotton.
Cotton rose (Bot.), a genus of composite herbs (Filago),
covered with a white substance resembling cotton.
Cotton scale (Zool.), a species of bark louse (Pulvinaria
innumerabilis), which does great damage to the cotton
plant.
Cotton shrub. Same as Cotton plant.
Cotton stainer (Zool.), a species of hemipterous insect
(Dysdercus suturellus), which seriously damages growing
cotton by staining it; -- called also redbug.
Cotton thistle (Bot.), the Scotch thistle. See under
Thistle.
Cotton velvet, velvet in which the warp and woof are both
of cotton, and the pile is of silk; also, velvet made
wholly of cotton.
Cotton waste, the refuse of cotton mills.
Cotton wool, cotton in its raw or woolly state.
Cotton worm (Zool.), a lepidopterous insect (Aletia
argillacea), which in the larval state does great damage
to the cotton plant by eating the leaves. It also feeds on
corn, etc., and hence is often called corn worm, and
Southern army worm.
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