A hawthorn or similar thorny shrub, possibly referring to varieties with particularly sharp or jagged thorns.
From 'hack' (jagged, rough) + 'thorn' (a sharp plant spine). This compound descriptively names the plant based on its characteristic sharp, rough appearance.
Old plant names often described exactly what the plant looked like—'hackthorn' tells you it's a thorn bush with a rough, hacked appearance, unlike today's clinical Latin names.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.