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tou·sle

(touzəl, -səl)

tr.v. tou·sled, tou·sling, tou·sles

To disarrange or rumple; dishevel.

A disheveled mass, as of hair.

[Early Modern English , frequentative of touse, to pull roughly, from Middle English -tousen (attested in past participles be-toused and to-toused, disheveled, rumpled); akin to German zausen and Low German tūsen, to tousle, ultimately from Germanic *tūs-; perhaps akin to Latin dūmus, thornbush, bramble (from Old Latin dusmus); and Old Irish dos, bushy tree, copse, thicket.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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