tasseln.1
/ˈtas(ə)l/ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > brooch or pin > [noun] > worn on specific article of clothing
tasselc1330
shirt pin1775
tie-pin1780
prop1850
scarf-pin1859
spark-prop1879
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 5736 Gij bi his mantelle drouȝ so, Þat þe tassels brosten ato.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4389 He drou, sco held, þe tassel brak, þe mantel left, he gafe þe bak.
c1420 Anturs of Arth. (Taylor) xxviii Monli in his mantille he sate,..The tassellus were of topeus.
1876 J. R. Planché Cycl. Costume I. 503 Taselle, tasseau, Fr…Also used for the clasp or fibula through which the cords passed which secured the mantle on the shoulder.]
2. † b. University slang. One who wears a cap with a tassel; an undergraduate. Cf. tuft n. Obsolete.
a. A pendent ornament consisting of a bunch or thick fringe of threads or small cords hanging in a somewhat conical shape from a solid rounded knob or mould, or from a knot formed by their junction with a cord. Frequently attached to a curtain, cushion, walking-cane, umbrella, etc., or forming the pull of a blind-cord or bell-cord.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > pendant ornaments
pendantc1400
tasselc1400
tarsel1459
pend1488
pendace1488
drop1502
pendle1567
tag1570
tasse1570
tasselet1577
lustre1682
fiocco1694
dewdrop1880
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > tassel
tasselc1400
tarsel1459
tag1570
tasse1570
job1659
fiocco1694
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 219 A lace.. Wyth tryed tasselez [MS reads tasseleȝ] þerto tacched in-noghe.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 487/1 Tassel, tassellus.
1480 Wardrobe Accts. Edward IV in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 125 For the makyng of xvj laces and xvj tasshels for the garnysshing of divers of the Kinges bookes.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 279/2 Tassel that hangeth at a thyng of sylke or golde, houppe doree.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. viii. sig. G6 An horne of bugle small, Which hong adowne his side in twisted gold, And tasselles gay.
1624 J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia ii. 35 All their tailes meete in the toppe of their head like a great Tassell.
a1627 J. Fletcher & T. Middleton Nice Valour ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ttt4v/2 And smile, & wave a chair with comely grace too, Play with our Tastle gently.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Tassels of a Coach, certain Silk-cords fasten'd on each Side the Doors, which serve for a Stay to those that ride in it.
1718 Free-thinker No. 44. 2 A young Damsel..tied a Gold Cord with two large Tossels of Gold to his Sword.
1755 Connoisseur No. 97. ⁋1 The fellow-commoners, noblemen, and other rich students, whom..the courtesy of the University [of Cambridge] has honoured with a cap adorned with a gold tossel.
1792 in Hist. Broughton Place Ch. Edinb. (1872) 20 A' their taisels, vain an' gay To mak us stare.
a1815 in G. Rose Diaries (1860) II. 438 He put out his hand to pull the bell, but could not catch the tassel.
1849 A. H. Layard Nineveh & Remains I. i. iii. 69 A knotted girdle, ending in tassels, encircled the loins.
1885 J. Ruskin Præterita I. vii. 233 A cushion of crimson velvet..with gold tassels at the corners.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > undergraduate
magistrand1628
undergraduate1630
man1803
undergrad1827
tassel1828
grad1958
1828 Sporting Mag. 21 428 A capital front rank of ‘tassells’..all eager for a ‘slap at a snob’.
3. Anything resembling or suggesting a tassel:† b. A tuft; a fringe. Obsolete.
a. In a tree or plant, a pendent catkin, blossom, flower, or bud; spec. the staminate (terminal) inflorescence of the maize-plant (U.S.): see also tassel hyacinth n. at hyacinth n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [noun] > of particular type, shape, or arrangement > catkin(s) or unisexual in florescence
chatc1400
tappette1561
catkin1578
chaton1578
kitekin1578
taglet1578
tag1597
cat's tail1611
nucament1633
tassel1646
catling1665
iulus1668
amentum1720
jul1725
ament1783
pussycat1850
lamb's tails1882
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize > head, cob, ear, or inflorescence
tassel1646
roasting ear1651
nubbin1692
grappe1693
cob1702
corn-cob1787
spike1800
ear leaf1835
maize ear1855
tucket1874
ear bud1901
1646 J. Winthrop Hist. New Eng. (1826) (modernized text) II. 267 Great harm was done in corn..by a caterpillar... They eat up first the blades of the stalk, then..the tassels, whereupon the ear withered.
1755 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 408/2 I found a fine stalk of Indian corn..; I cut off the male tossil as soon as it appeared, and there was produced a large ear, but no good grains upon it.
1823 F. D. Hemans Voice of Spring in Siege of Valencia 315 The larch has hung all his tassels forth.
1824 M. R. Mitford Our Village I. 268 I had been there in early spring, when the fragrant palms were on the willow, and the yellow tassels on the hazel.
1863 C. Kingsley Water-babies i. 14 The bird-cherry with its tassels of snow.
1894 E. Eggleston in Cent. Mag. Apr. 850 Our country people, when speaking of the male flower of the maize, preserve the broad vowel of their ancestors: ‘tossell’ it will remain in spite of the schoolmaster.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > tuft
tuftc1405
tate1513
tuffet?1553
thrum1578
muchet1601
tassel1609
whisk1845
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie i. sig. A3v Besides their soveraigne the Bees haue also subordinate governors... For difference from the rest they beare for their crest a tufte or tossel in some coloured yellow, in some murrey, in manner of a plume.
1672 J. Josselyn New-Englands Rarities 35 The other is nothing but Bones with Tassels hanging from their Jaws, with which they [whales] suck in their prey.
4. In med. (Anglo-)Latin, tassellus is given by Du Cange as used = fimbria n., fringe of a cope or chasuble. Dr. Rock, Church of our Fathers (II. 32–), explains Du Cange's quots. otherwise, and holds that tassellus had the following uses: (a) the large thin sheet of gold or silver hanging behind on the cope; (b) any piece of gold or silver plate fastened to a vestment (copes and chasubles having ‘their tasselli sparkling with gems, hung all about them’); (c) the ornaments on the back of episcopal gloves, when not done in embroidery, but made of silver or gold plate.By Dr. Rock himself, and some writers after him, the English word tassel has been used in senses 4(b) and 4(c).
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > vestments > outer garments > [noun] > cope > gold or silver plate fastened to
tassel1849
society > faith > artefacts > vestments > sartorial appurtenances > [noun] > glove > plate on back of
monialc1540
tassel1849
c1188 Gervase of Canterbury in W. Dugdale Monasticon Anglicanum (1655) I. 21 Duas capas de pallio cum tassellis auro paratis.
c1250 M. Paris Vitæ Abbat. S. Albani (1639) 55 Capam unam purpuream, morsu et tassellis charissimis redimitam.
a1252 Visit. Churches St. Paul's 14 in Camden Misc. (1895) IX Item capa chori crocea cum duobus tassellis brusdatis Majestate et Maria.]
1849 D. Rock Church our Fathers II. 161 (note) These tassels, as we said before, were thin plates of beaten gold or silver.
1887 Archaeologia 50 ii. 448 Upon the ‘tassels’ of the cope of Richard Ruffus were depicted the martyrdoms of St. Stephen and St. Thomas.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
tassel-board n.
ΚΠ
a1639 J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) vi. 407 Every Chair had a Tassel-boord covered with fine Velvet.
tassel-drop n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > jewellery of specific shape or form > [noun] > pendant
pendantc1400
pendicle1488
drop1502
pennon1546
pendeloque1623
bob1648
pendulea1699
pear drop1785
dropperc1825
tassel-drop1849
hanger-
1849 R. S. Surtees Soapey Sponge's Sporting Tour xxvii, in New Monthly Mag. Nov. 355 A chased and figured fine gold brooch, with two pendant tassel-drops.
tassel-maker n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of ornamental textiles or trimmings > [noun] > one who makes tassels
tasseller1301
tassel-maker1902
1902 Daily Chron. 9 Sept. 3/6 A number of the tassel-makers were independently interviewed in their own homes while at work.
tassel-making n.
ΚΠ
1902 Daily Chron. 9 Sept. 3/6 Tassel-making is one of the three worst paid of the various home industries open to sweating.
b.
tassel-hung adj.
ΚΠ
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam c. 154 The low love-language of the bird In native hazels tassel-hung . View more context for this quotation
C2.
tassel-cock n. a game-cock which has a tuft of feathers in place of the comb.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Galliformes (fowls) > family Phasianidae (pheasants, etc.) > hen or cock > [noun] > cock > fighting cock > kinds of
turn-poke1615
shake-bag1663
heeler1688
game bantam1831
tassel-cock1898
1898 Pall Mall Gaz. 3 Feb. 9/1 ‘Henny’ cocks..have won more battles..than any other birds, except it be the ‘tassel’ cock.
tassel-corn n. U.S. the grain of maize borne abnormally on the ‘tassel’ (see 3a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > maize > types of
flint corn1705
soft corn1751
flint1802
squaw corn1823
tassel-corn1883
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize > types of
green cornc1450
flint corn1705
flint1802
sweet corna1817
squaw corn1823
dent corn1853
tassel-corn1883
country gentleman1892
1883 E. L. Sturtevant in Science 234/1 (Variability of Maize) Tassel-corn,—some of the kernels heavily, others slightly husked.
tassel-fish n. an Australian fish, Polynemus quadridactylus, the pectoral fins of which terminate in a number of long threads.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > [noun] > suborder Polynemoidei (thread fins) > polynemus quadridactylus (thread-fin)
thread-fish1885
thread-fin1896
tassel-fish1898
1898 E. E. Morris Austral Eng. Tassel-fish, a thread-fish of Queensland, of the genus Polynemus.
1902 J. T. Critchell in Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 110/2 Several species of the tassel fish (Polynemus macrocohoir), from which isinglass is procured, have been taken by fishermen.
tassel-flower n. (a) a tassel-like flower; spec. the orange, scarlet, or yellowish blossom of Emilia sagittata ( Cacalia coccinea), N.O. Compositæ, or the plant itself; (b) a shrub or tree of the genus Inga ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > composite flowers > other composite flowers
ox-eyea1400
starwort?a1450
Jupiter's beard1567
goldenrod1568
achillea1597
blue camomile1597
blue daisy1597
cineraria1597
hog's bean1597
jackanapes on horseback1597
sea-starwort1597
sultan flower1629
mouse-ear1696
aster1706
Canada goldenrod1731
ageratum1737
rudbeckia1751
coreopsis1753
melampodium1754
Aaron's rod1760
zinnia1761
Michaelmas daisy1767
China aster1785
New England aster1785
catananche1798
sea-aster1812
cosmea1813
cosmos1813
gazania1813
erigeron1815
gousblom1822
Christmas daisy1829
rhodanthe1834
tassel-flower1836
ligularia1839
old maid1839
mountain daisy1848
purple coneflower1848
acroclinium1852
sea ox-eye1856
thimble-weed1860
helipterum1862
treasure-flower1866
Swan River daisy1873
blanket flower1879
cone-flower1879
blue marguerite1882
Solidago1883
yellow-top1887
Gaillardia1888
gerbera1889
youth and old age1889
pussytoes1892
niggerhead1893
Transvaal daisy1899
Barberton daisy1906
onion grass1909
ursinia1928
Cupid's dart1930
Livingstone daisy1932
1836 A. H. Lincoln Familiar Lect. Bot. (ed. 5) 83 Tassel-flower; from the East Indies.
1863 ‘G. Hamilton’ Gala-days 10 The scarlet tassel-flower utterly refuses to unfold his brave plumes.
1885 G. Allen Babylon I. vi. 125 Do you know the tassel-flower?
1957 C. O. Booth Encycl. Ann. & Biennial Plants 261/2 E[milia] sagittata..is the popular Tassel Flower, or Flora's Paintbrush, a charming half-hardy annual.
tassel-grass n. (a) a grass or (?) sedge with pendent spicules; (b) Ruppia maritima, an aquatic herb of which the seed-vessels are borne on clusters of lengthened pedicels.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > [noun] > of unidentified or unspecified type
flags1577
wood-grass1597
orchard grass1764
tassel-grass1810
nit-grass1831
corkscrew grass1890
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > a grass or grasses > reedy or aquatic grasses > [noun] > sea grasses
sea-grass1762
tassel-grass1810
1810 R. Southey Curse of Kehama xiii. 138 Tassel-grass, whose silvery feathers play O'ertopping the young trees.
1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. V. 336 Sea Ruppia or Tassel-grass..has slender, much-branched stems..and long slender bristly leaves with sheaths.
tassel hyacinth n. Muscari comosum, the stalk and flower of which resemble a tassel; also called purse-tassel, purple tassels (Miller Plant-n. 1884).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > hyacinth and allied flowers > grape-hyacinth or tassel-hyacinth
fair-haired hyacinth1597
grape-flower1597
muscari1597
pearls of Spain1597
musk grape-flower1598
musk-grape1607
musk hyacinth1629
purple-tassels1629
purse tassel1629
grape hyacinth1733
musk1786
starch hyacinth1790
tassel hyacinth1790
1790 Bot. Mag. 4 133 (heading) Two Coloured, or Tassel Hyacinth.
1865 M. Eyre Lady's Walks South of France xxiii. 251 The starch, and the tassel-hyacinth,..and many others..are all common flowers about Bagnères.
1961 R. Genders Miniature Bulbs ii. 165 The ‘Tassel Hyacinth’ grows a foot high.
tassel-pondweed n. = tassel-grass n. (b) (Miller Plant-n. 1884).
tassel-stitch n. an embroidery stitch used in forming a fringe, loops of thread being left, which are afterwards cut.
ΚΠ
1882 S. F. A. Caulfeild & B. C. Saward Dict. Needlework 194/2 Tassel Stitch, a stitch used to make a looped fringe as an edging to Embroideries.
tassel-tree n. = tassel-bush n. ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
tassel-worm n. a grub which feeds on the tassel of the maize-plant.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
tasseltorseln.2
/ˈtas(ə)l//ˈtɒs(ə)l//ˈtɔːs(ə)l/ Architecture.
A short board or ‘templet’ placed under the end of a beam or other timber where it rests on brickwork or stonework.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > members of
pan1284
balka1300
lacec1330
pautre1360
dorman1374
rib1378
montant1438
dormant?1454
transom1487
ground-pillar?a1500
barge-couple1562
spar foot1579
frankpost1587
tracing1601
sleeper1607
bressumer1611
master-beam1611
muntin1611
discharge1620
dormer1623
mounting post1629
tassel1632
baufrey1640
pier1663
storey post1663
breastplate?1667
mudsill1685
template1700
brow-post1706
brow-stone1761
runner1772
stretching beam1776
pole plate1787
sabliere1800
frame stud1803
bent1815
mounting1819
bond-timber1823
storey rod1823
wall-hold1833
wall-strap1833
truss-block1883
sleeper-beam1937
shell1952
1632 in E. B. Jupp Carpenters' Co. (1887) 301 The making of all mantletrees tassels and footepaces of timber.
1654 in E. B. Jupp Carpenters' Co. (1887) 316 That no Timber..be laid in Chimneys except the mantle trees Tassells and Discharges.
?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 82 Allow six foot of Timber for every Chimney, for Mantle-trees and Torsels.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 26 When you lay any Timber on Brick-work, as Torsels for Mantle-Trees to lye on.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 595 Torsel, a piece of wood laid into a wall for the end of a timber or beam to rest on.
1876 W. Papworth Gwilt's Encycl. Archit. (rev. ed.) Gloss. 1325 Tassal, Tassel, Torsel, or Tossel, the plate of timber for the end of a beam or of a joist to rest on.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
tasselv.
/ˈtas(ə)l/ 1. transitive. To furnish or adorn with or as with a tassel or tassels.In past participle in Heraldry indicating that the tassel or tassels are of a tincture different from that of the rest of the bearing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > ornament [verb (transitive)] > ornament with tassels
tassel?a1366
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > sew or ornament textile fabric [verb (transitive)] > trim > with tassels
tassel?a1366
betassel1648
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1079 A robe..With orfrays leyd was everydel,..And with a bend of gold tasseled.
14.. Sir Beues (MS. N.) 3777 + 7 Tacellid wiþ rosys off syluyr bryȝt.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 65 By hir girdel heeng a purs of lether Tasseled with silk and perled with latoun.
1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 92 He beareth Argente, a pursse gules, doble tasseled d'azure.
1724 London Gaz. No. 6290/2 A Velvet..Cushion edged and tasselled with Gold.
1894 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 317/2 The blond sallow tasselled itself with gold.
2. intransitive. Of maize and sugar cane: To form ‘tassels’, to flower, bloom. Chiefly U.S. Also tassel out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [verb (intransitive)] > grow or produce parts (of plants)
grain1390
ear1442
spindle1577
to run to straw1660
tassel out1757
spean1829
spane1843
silk1878
1757 in C. R. Woodward Ploughs & Politicks (1941) 278 Just before it Tossles it should be plowed & hoed again.
1774 P. V. Fithian Jrnl. & Lett. (1900) 212 The Corn is beginning pretty generally to tassel.
1785 G. Washington Writings (1891) XII. 227 It [Indian corn] should be kept clean and well worked..till it shoots and tassels at least.
1843 Amer. Pioneer 2 83 Corn, if planted, grows a foot high, tassels out and dies.
1881 H. W. Nicholson From Sword to Share xxii. 153 Cane grew..almost everywhere..at altitudes up to 3,000 feet above sea-level, at half that height it ceased to blossom or tassel.
1887 M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 29 His corn tasselled out..as soon as anybody's.
1966 R. G. Toepfer Witness v. 34 Mr. Davis Miller's corn was starting to tassel out and you could pretty near see it grow.
Derivatives
ˈtasselling adj. and n. (also ˈtasseling) (also concrete work composed of tassels).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > [noun] > pendant ornaments > decoration with
tasselling1829
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > flower or part containing reproductive organs > inflorescence or collective flower > [adjective] > having particular shape, type, or arrangement
shadowy1562
tasselling1829
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > ornamental textiles > ornamental trimmings > [noun] > tassel > ornamentation made of
tufting1554
tusking1558
tasselling1829
1829 N. M. Beatrice in A. Cunningham Anniversary 232 She couches in the pleached bower Which tasselling honeysuckles deck.
1881 H. W. Nicholson From Sword to Share xxix. 222 In November the cane tops will throw out a feathery, dove-coloured blossom, called tasselling.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 12 July 7/3 The sides of the stairs..are..finished off with gold tasselling.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1c1330
n.21632v.?a1366