crown of thorns

Meanings

1. The crown made of a thorny plant that Christ was forced to wear before his Crucifixion, in mocking reference to his alleged status as ‘king of the Jews’, or a representation of this.
2. A spiny Mediterranean tree, Ziziphus spina-christi.
3. A spiny spurge, Euphorbia milii, native to Madagascar.
4. The plant Koeberlinia spinosa.
5. Ellipsis of crown-of-thorns starfish
6. A woodworking technique, used in tramp art, in which interlocking pieces are notched to intersect at right angles and form joints and self-supporting objects.

Etymology

Calque of Latin spinea corona, itself a calque of Hellenistic Ancient Greek ἀκάνθινος στέφανος (akánthinos stéphanos).