Briar vs. Thorn: What's the Difference?

Any of several prickly plants, such as certain rosebushes or the greenbrier.

A modified branch in the form of a sharp woody structure.

A Mediterranean shrub or small tree (Erica arborea) in the heath family, whose woody roots are used to make tobacco pipes. Also called tree heath.

Any of various other sharp protuberances, such as a spine.

A pipe made from the root of this plant or from a similar wood.

Any of various shrubs, trees, or woody plants bearing such sharp structures.

Variant of brier1.

Any of various sharp protuberances on an animal.

Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.

One that causes sharp pain, irritation, or discomfort

(figurative) Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.

The runic letter þ, used in Old English, Middle English, and Old Norse manuscripts to represent both the voiceless sound (th) of Modern English thin and the voiced sound (th) of Modern English this, and in modern Icelandic orthography to represent the voiceless sound (th).

The white heath (Erica arborea), a thorny Mediterranean shrub.

(botany) A sharp protective spine of a plant.

A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.

Any shrub or small tree that bears thorns, especially a hawthorn.

Same as Brier.

(figurative) That which pricks or annoys; anything troublesome.

Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips

A letter of Latin script (capital: Þ, small: þ), borrowed from the futhark; today used only in Icelandic to represent the voiceless dental fricative, but originally used in several early Germanic scripts, including Old English where it represented the dental fricatives that are today written th (Old English did not have phonemic voicing distinctions for fricatives).

A very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries

To pierce with, or as if with, a thorn (sharp pointed object).

Evergreen treelike Mediterranean shrub having fragrant white flowers in large terminal panicles and hard woody roots used to make tobacco pipes

A hard and sharp-pointed projection from a woody stem; usually, a branch so transformed; a spine.

A pipe made from the root (briarroot) of the tree heath

Any shrub or small tree which bears thorns; especially, any species of the genus Cratægus, as the hawthorn, whitethorn, cockspur thorn.

Fig.: That which pricks or annoys as a thorn; anything troublesome; trouble; care.

The name of the Anglo-Saxon letter , capital form . It was used to represent both of the sounds of English th, as in thin, then. So called because it was the initial letter of thorn, a spine.

To prick, as with a thorn.

Something that causes irritation and annoyance;

A sharp-pointed tip on a stem or leaf

A Germanic character of runic origin