hawthorn (n.) Look up hawthorn at Dictionary.com
Old English hagaþorn, earlier hæguþorn "hawthorn, white thorn," from obsolete haw "hedge or encompassing fence" (see haw (n.)) + thorn. So called because it was used in hedges. A common Germanic compound: Middle Dutch hagedorn, German hagedorn, Swedish hagtorn, Old Norse hagþorn.