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
- detassel verb (used with object)
- tasseler noun
- tasselly adjective
- untasseled adjective
- untasselled adjective
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
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.
The traditional velvet cap features embroidered initials, button and tassel and a hand-embroidered clementine in honour of his wife Clementine.
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2024
A few tables away, Alexandra Derderian, a video editor wearing the same rainbow tassel earrings as her plush giraffe puppet, was chatting with Michael Esparza and his bright orange Muppet-like counterpart, Melvin.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2024
A smaller tassel allows more light to reach the leaves.
From Science Magazine • Oct. 25, 2023
Most still possess upward of 90 fingerlike tentacles, which stick out of the creature’s bell-shaped body like the strings at the end of a tassel rug.
From New York Times • Aug. 1, 2023
She wound my braid into a tight ball, then arranged and snipped the loose silk strands until they fell into a neat tassel.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
