hazel

Etymology

From Middle English hasel, from Old English hæsl (“hazel, shrub”), from Proto-West Germanic *hasl, from Proto-Germanic *haslaz (“hazel”), from Proto-Indo-European *kóslos (“hazel”). Cognate with Dutch hazelaar (“hazel”), German Hasel (“hazel”), Swedish hassel (“hazel”), Latin corulus, corylus (“hazel-tree, hazelwood”), Irish coll (“hazel”).

noun

1. (countable) A tree or shrub of the genus Corylus, bearing edible nuts called hazelnuts or filberts.
   The green turf was velvet underfoot. The blackbirds fluted in the hazels there. 1895, S. R. Crockett, A Cry Across the Black Water
   Have a tree or two the witches particularly like, such as the alder, larch, cypress and hemlock; then, to counteract any possible evil effects, there must be a holly, yew, hazel, elder, mountain ash or juniper. 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 273
2. (countable) The nut of the hazel tree.
3. (uncountable) The wood of a hazelnut tree.
4. (countable and uncountable) A greenish-brown colour, the colour of a ripe hazelnut.
   hazel:
5. (mining, countable) Freestone.

adj

1. Of a greenish-brown colour. (often used to refer to eye colour)