TEASEL

I. noun Etymology: Middle English tesel, from Old English tǣsel; akin to Old English tǣsan to tease Date: before 12th century 1. an Old World prickly herb ( Dipsacus fullonum of the family Dipsacaceae, the ~ family) with flower heads that are covered with stiff hooked bracts and were used especially formerly in the woolen industry, a plant of the same genus as the ~, 2. a flower head of the fuller's ~ used when dried to raise a nap on woolen cloth, a wire substitute for the ~, II. transitive verb (~ed or ~led; ~ing or ~ling) Date: 1543 to nap (cloth) with ~s