tassel
Americannoun
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a pendent ornament consisting commonly of a bunch of threads, small cords, or other strands hanging from a roundish knob or head, used on clothing, in jewelry, on curtains, etc.
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something resembling this, as the inflorescence of certain plants, especially that at the summit of a stalk of corn.
verb (used with object)
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to furnish or adorn with tassels.
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to form into a tassel or tassels.
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to remove the tassel from (growing corn) in order to improve the crop.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a tuft of loose threads secured by a knot or ornamental knob, used to decorate soft furnishings, clothes, etc
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anything resembling this tuft, esp the tuft of stamens at the tip of a maize inflorescence
verb
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(tr) to adorn with a tassel or tassels
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(intr) (of maize) to produce stamens in a tuft
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(tr) to remove the tassels from
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tassel
1250–1300; Middle English (noun) < Old French tas ( s ) el fastening for cloak < Vulgar Latin *tassellus, blend of Latin tessella (diminutive of tessera die for gaming) and taxillus (diminutive of tālus die for gaming). See tessellate, talus 1
Explanation
A tassel is an ornament or decoration that's made of threads. Tassels are used to decorate curtains, pillows, and clothing. A graduation cap (or mortarboard) often has a cord with a tassel attached to the top with a cord—in the U.S. it's traditional for a student to move the tassel from one side to the other at the end of the graduation ceremony. You'll also see tassels along the edges of fancy drapery and other soft furnishings. Tassels in various parts of the ancient Arab world were considered good luck, said to protect children from evil spirits.
Vocabulary lists containing tassel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Van Tassel was in the park photographing a group of long-eared owls perched in the trees above Tamarisk Grove on a recent weekday morning.
From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026
Van Tassel noted that the crash involved several risk factors besides the youth of the driver: It happened at night and on a road with a high speed limit when the spare blew.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 2022
She was joined by contemporary dancer Alanna Morris-Van Tassel and Berit Ahlgren, who is trained in the Gaga movement language developed by Israel’s Ohad Naharin.
From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2021
“He doesn’t need jail time. He needs mental health care,” Ms. Van Tassel said.
From Washington Times • Nov. 12, 2019
I had an ancestress with a long gray tail and eyes as beady as mine, and her name was Katinka Van Tassel.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
