A teasel is a plant with dry prickly flowers and leaves.
teasel in British English
or teazel or teazle (ˈtiːzəl)
noun
1.
any of various stout biennial plants of the genus Dipsacus, of Eurasia and N Africa, having prickly leaves and prickly heads of yellow or purple flowers: family Dipsacaceae
See also fuller's teasel
2.
a.
the prickly dried flower head of the fuller's teasel, used for teasing
b.
any manufactured implement used for the same purpose
verbWord forms: -sels, -selling, -selledWord forms: US-sels, -seling or -seled
3. (transitive)
to tease (a fabric)
Derived forms
teaseller (ˈteaseller)
noun
Word origin
Old English tǣsel; related to Old High German zeisala teasel, Norwegian tīsl undergrowth, tīsla to tear to bits; see tease
teasel in American English
(ˈtizəl)
noun
1.
any of a genus (Dipsacus) of bristly plants of the teasel family, with prickly, cylindrical heads of yellowish or purplish flowers, esp. the fuller's teasel (D. fullonum) with flower heads having sharp, spinelike bracts
2.
a flower head of the fuller's teasel, used when dried for raising a nap on cloth
3.
any device for raising a nap on cloth
adjective
4.
designating a family (Dipsacaceae, order Dipsacales) of dicotyledonous plants bearing dense flower heads covered with stiff bracts, including scabiosa and teasel