HAZEL

I. noun Etymology: Middle English hasel, from Old English hæsel; akin to Old High German hasal ~, Latin corulus Date: before 12th century any of a genus ( Corylus and especially the American C. americana and the European C. avellana ) of shrubs or small trees of the birch family bearing nuts enclosed in a leafy involucre, a light brown to strong yellowish brown, II. adjective Date: 14th century consisting of ~s or of the wood of the ~, 2. of the color ~, of a variable color averaging light greenish-grayish brown