tassel

Meaning

Noun

1. A ball-shaped bunch of plaited or otherwise entangled threads from which at one end protrudes a cord on which the ball is hung, and which may have loose, dangling threads at the other end (often used as decoration along the bottom of garments, curtains or other hangings).
2. The panicle on a male plant of maize, which consists of loose threads with anthers on them.
3. The loose hairs at the end of a braid.
4. A narrow silk ribbon, or similar, sewed to a book to be put between the pages.
5. A piece of board that is laid upon a wall as a sort of plate, to give a level surface to the ends of floor timbers.
6. A kind of bur used in dressing cloth; a teasel.
7. A thin plate of gold on the back of a bishop's gloves.

Verb

1. To adorn with tassels.
2. To put forth a tassel or flower.

Synonyms

fringe

tuft

pompon

pompom

tape

collection

curtain

pom-pom

screen

spike

tag

tail

tassels

tress

trimming

tussock

wisp

chin strap

ball

torsel

bragger

bunch

cluster

collar

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtæsəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tassel

In summary

From Middle English tassel, from Old French tassel, from Latin taxillus (“small cube”), from tālus (“ankle”).