tousle
pronunciation
How to pronounce tousle in British English:
UK [ˈtaʊzl]
How to pronounce tousle in American English:
US [ˈtaʊzəl]
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- Verb:
- disarrange or rumple; dishevel
Word Origin
- tousle
- tousle: [15] Tousle was derived from an earlier touse ‘pull about, shake’ (probable source also of tussle [15]), which went back to an Old English *tūsian. Amongst its relatives is German zausen ‘tug, tousle’.=> tussle
- tousle (v.)
- "pull roughly, disorder, dishevel," mid-15c., frequentative of -tousen "handle or push about roughly," probably from an unrecorded Old English *tusian, from Proto-Germanic *tus- (cognates: Frisian tusen, Old High German erzusen, German zausen "to tug, pull, dishevel"); related to tease (v.). Related: Tousled; tousling.
Example
- 1. This technique is very useful in any style of tousle .
- 2. A light wind blows , not strong enough to tousle the stiff green hair sprouting from his head like dry grass .
- 3. I tousle his hair between my fingers as he looks deep into my eyes .