teasel

or tea·zel, tea·zle

[ tee-zuhl ]

/ ˈti zəl /

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noun

any of several plants of the genus Dipsacus, having prickly leaves and flower heads.Compare teasel family.

the dried flower head or bur of the plant D. fullonum, used for teasing or teaseling cloth.

any mechanical contrivance used for teaseling.

verb (used with object), tea·seled, tea·sel·ing or (especially British) tea·selled, tea·sel·ling.

to raise a nap on (cloth) with teasels; dress by means of teasels.

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Origin of teasel

before 1000; Middle English tesel,Old English tǣsel; akin to tease

OTHER WORDS FROM teasel

tea·sel·er; especially British, tea·sel·ler, nounun·tea·seled, adjectiveun·tea·selled, adjective

Words nearby teasel

tear strip, teary, teary-eyed, Teasdale, tease, teasel, teasel family, teasel gourd, tease out, teaser, tea service

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use teasel in a sentence

All these Indians spin the thread, of which they make their nets, of a kind of teasel.
The Conquest of the River Plate (1535-1555)|Ulrich Schmidt
But none of these processes have succeeded in discarding the natural teasel from the most eminent manufactories.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
In fact, 'the seal of the Port-reeve bears a church between a teasel and a saltire, with the sun and moon above.'
Devon, Its Moorlands, Streams and Coasts|Rosalind Northcote
We conclude this chapter with a description of the common Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris) of the order Dipsace.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux

Tease, earlier toose, means to pluck or pull to pieces, hence the name teasel for the thistle used by wool-carders.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)|Ernest Weekley

British Dictionary definitions for teasel

teasel

teazel or teazle

/ (ˈtiːzəl) /

noun

any of various stout biennial plants of the genus Dipsacus, of Eurasia and N Africa, having prickly leaves and prickly heads of yellow or purple flowers: family DipsacaceaeSee also fuller's teasel

the prickly dried flower head of the fuller's teasel, used for teasing
any manufactured implement used for the same purpose

verb -sels, -selling or -selled or US -sels, -seling or -seled

(tr) to tease (a fabric)

Derived forms of teasel

teaseller, noun

Word Origin for teasel

Old English tǣsel; related to Old High German zeisala teasel, Norwegian tīsl undergrowth, tīsla to tear to bits; see tease

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012