teazel

[ tee-zuh l ]

/ ˈti zəl /

noun, verb (used with object), tea·zeled, tea·zel·ing or (especially British) tea·zelled, tea·zel·ling.

teasel.

Words nearby teazel

teaspoon, teaspoonful, teat, teataster, teatime, teazel, teazle, tebaldi, tebet, tebi-, tebow

Definition for teazel (2 of 2)

teasel

or tea·zel, tea·zle

[ tee-zuh l ]

/ ˈti zəl /

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.

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for teazel

The leaves of the involucre are spiny in thistles and in teazel (Dipsacus), and hooked in burdock.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 5|Various
The raising of caraway, coriander, and teazel is almost peculiar to this county.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
If a 'prentice of mine cannot clean his platter, I know that I shall get little from him with carder and teazel.
Micah Clarke|Arthur Conan Doyle

British Dictionary definitions for teazel

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