Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell thistle

Thistle is spelled T-H-I-S-T-L-E.

hear itthis·tle/'θɪsəl/nounSilent and tricky

What it means: A prickly plant often found in gardens.

In a sentence: The butterfly landed gently on the purple thistle in the garden.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear.

Same family: thistly, milk thistle, Scotch thistle, weed, prickly. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Thistle comes from Old English "thistel," related to words in German and Dutch for the same plant. The thistle is famously used as a national symbol of Scotland and appears in many traditional stories and emblems.

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