stob
masculine
The English word "thorn" can be translated into Gaelic as stob, droigheann or dealg.
Meaning: sharp protective structure of a plant (noun)
Ways to say it
| Gaelic | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| stob | masculine | |
| droigheann | /ˈt̪ɾɔjən̪ˠ/ | masculine |
| dealg | /ˈtʲal̪ˠak/ | feminine |
The terms are used to describe the sharp protective structures of plants.
Which one should you use?
stob refers more generally to a single spike, peg or a single sharp point rather than specifically a biological thorn. droigheann is often used to describe the collective thorns found on a bush.
How does it change in a sentence?
stob is a masculine noun and dealg is a feminine noun.
Did you know?
- In Gaelic culture, the blackthorn tree, associated with droigheann, is historically linked to protection and the supernatural.
- The word stob is a distant linguistic cousin to the English word 'stab', sharing an ancient way of describing a piercing movement.
- While stob can mean 'thorn', it is also the word used for a 'peg' or 'stake' driven into the ground.
Example sentences for Gaelic are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Angus and Isla are gardening together.
- AngusOuch! Tha stob anns an làimh.Ouch! There is a thorn in my hand.
- IslaAn robh an stob mòr, a Angus?Was the thorn big, Angus?
- AngusCha robh e mòr, ach bha e geur.It wasn't big, but it was sharp.
- IslaTig an seo, a Angus.Come here, Angus.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thorn” translations and entries stob, droigheann, dealg, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries dealg, droigheann, stob, CC BY-SA 4.0.
