8  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Teasel  \Tea"sel\,  n.  [OE.  tesel,  AS  t?sel,  t?sl,  the  fuller's 
  herb.  See  {Tease}.]  [Written  also  {tassel},  {tazel}, 
  {teasle},  {teazel},  and  {teazle}.] 
  1.  (Bot.)  A  plant  of  the  genus  {Dipsacus},  of  which  one 
  species  ({D.  fullonum})  bears  a  large  flower  head  covered 
  with  stiff,  prickly,  hooked  bracts.  This  flower  head,  when 
  dried,  is  used  for  raising  a  nap  on  woolen  cloth. 
 
  Note:  Small  teasel  is  {Dipsacus  pilosus},  wild  teasel  is  {D. 
  sylvestris}. 
 
  2.  A  bur  of  this  plant. 
 
  3.  Any  contrivance  intended  as  a  substitute  for  teasels  in 
  dressing  cloth. 
 
  {Teasel  frame},  a  frame  or  set  of  iron  bars  in  which  teasel 
  heads  are  fixed  for  raising  the  nap  on  woolen  cloth. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tassel  \Tas"sel\,  v.  i.  [imp.  &  p.  p.  {Tasseled}or  {Tasselled}; 
  p.  pr  &  vb  n.  {Tasseling}  or  {Tasselling}.] 
  To  put  forth  a  tassel  or  flower;  as  maize  tassels. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tassel  \Tas"sel\,  v.  t. 
  To  adorn  with  tassels.  --Chaucer. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tassel  \Tas"sel\,  n.  (Falconry) 
  A  male  hawk.  See  {Tercel}. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tassel  \Tas"sel\,  n.  [See  {Teasel}.] 
  A  kind  of  bur  used  in  dressing  cloth;  a  teasel. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tassel  \Tas"sel\,  n.  [OE.,  a  fastening  of  a  mantle,  OF  tassel  a 
  fastening,  clasp,  F.  tasseau  a  bracket,  Fr  L.  taxillus  a 
  little  die,  dim.  of  talus  a  die  of  a  longish  shape,  rounded 
  on  two  sides  and  marked  only  on  the  other  four  a  knuckle 
  bone.] 
  1.  A  pendent  ornament,  attached  to  the  corners  of  cushions, 
  to  curtains,  and  the  like  ending  in  a  tuft  of  loose 
  threads  or  cords. 
 
  2.  The  flower  or  head  of  some  plants,  esp.  when  pendent. 
 
  And  the  maize  field  grew  and  ripened,  Till  it  stood 
  in  all  the  splendor  Of  its  garments  green  and 
  yellow,  Of  its  tassels  and  its  plumage. 
  --Longfellow. 
 
  3.  A  narrow  silk  ribbon,  or  the  like  sewed  to  a  book  to  be 
  put  between  the  leaves. 
 
  4.  (Arch.)  A  piece  of  board  that  is  laid  upon  a  wall  as  a 
  sort  of  plate,  to  give  a  level  surface  to  the  ends  of 
  floor  timbers;  --  rarely  used  in  the  United  States. 
 
  {Tassel  flower}  (Bot.),  a  name  of  several  composite  plants  of 
  the  genus  {Cineraria},  especially  the  {C.  sconchifolia}, 
  and  of  the  blossoms  which  they  bear. 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Tercel  \Ter"cel\,  n. 
  See  {Tiercel}.  Called  also  {tarsel},  {tassel}.  --Chaucer. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  tassel 
  n  :  a  bunch  of  cords  fastened  at  one  end 

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