hazel

& a. [A. S. hæsel; cogn. with Dut. hazelaar; Icel. hasl, hesli; Dan. & Sw. ha el; Ger. hasel; O. H. Ger. hasala; Lat.corulus; Wel. coll.] A. As substantive: Ord. Lang. & Bot .: Corylus avellan a , a glandular, hispid, pubescent shrub, or sometimes a tree, with distichous, orbicular-cordate, doubly-serrate, cuspidate leaves, unequal at the base. The male flowers are in pendulous catkins, while the female ones are minute, sub-globose, and se ile. The fruit is a nut. [HAZEL-NUT.] The young forked twigs were once used for divining-rods. The wood is elastic. It is used for many purposes; when burnt, it makes good charcoal for drawing. The hazel grows in this country, in Britain, and in many parts of Europe, also in North Africa, Siberia, . [FILBERT.] "The hazels afford him a screen from the heat." Cowper: Poplar Field. B. As adj.: Of or pertaining to hazel; of the color of the hazel-nut; of a light brown color. "Chuse a warm dry soil, that has a good depth of light hazel mould." - Mortimer : Husbandry. Witch hazel : [WITCH-HAZEL.]