tease, taise, tayse, toose, tose, tosyn

t. & i. [A. S. tæsan =to pluck, to pull; cogn, with O. Dut. teesen; Dut. teezen to pluck; Dan. tæse, tæ e to tease wool; M. H. Ger. zeisen to tease; zausen to pull, to drag.] A. Transitive: I. Literally: teat 1. To pull apart or separate the fibers of; to pick into its separate fibers; to comb or card, as wool or flax. 2. To employ a teasel upon; to teasel, for the purpose of raising a nap. II. Fig .: To vex or annoy with importunity or impertinence; to annoy, vex, or irritate with petty requests, trifling interference, or by jests or raillery; to plague. "Thus always teasing others, always teased , His only pleasure is to be displeased." Cowper: Conversation, 345. B. In trans.: To vex or annoy with importunity or impertinence. tease-tenon, s. Joinery: A tenon on the summit of a post, to receive two beams meeting each other at right angles.