Etymology

tassel

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Today it means: 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). Full definition →

Middle English tassel ← Old French tassel ← Latin tāxillus
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tassel · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromtāxillus“small cube”
  2. Old French · derived fromtassel
  3. Middle English · inherited fromtassel
  4. English todaytassel

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

tassel · noun2

See tassell.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.