kanthos

Kanthos is the transliteration of the Greek κάνθος, a noun meaning "thorn" or "spine." In both ancient and modern Greek, the word denotes a sharp projection on a plant or animal. In classical literature it occurs in descriptions of thorny plant parts, prickly features of animals, and other pointed structures, serving as a general descriptor rather than a fixed scientific term.

In botanical and anatomical contexts, kanthos functions as a descriptive root rather than a formal taxonomic name, appearing in translations and discussions of Greek descriptions of morphology. The term is primarily of historical and linguistic interest in English-language scholarship; it is not widely used as a standalone technical term in modern botany.

In contemporary Greek, kanthos retains its literal meaning and can be used metaphorically to refer to obstacles or irritations, akin to the English expression "thorn in one's side." The word thus persists in both everyday language and literary usage, reflecting the enduring role of basic descriptive vocabulary in Greek.