Tease
/tiːz/noun
To make fun of or provoke someone playfully or cruelly.
Did you know?In its oldest English sense, to tease was to comb or pull apart wool fibers, so the word’s emotional sting grew out of a literal act of separation and rough handling.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*taisōną
“to pull apart, comb, or card fibers”
Old English
OE
tǣsan
“to card wool or tease apart fibers”
Middle English
ME
tesen
“to comb, card, or pull apart”
15th Century
English
teesen / tease
“to card wool; later, to annoy or provoke”
Modern English
English
tease
“to make fun of, annoy, or provoke playfully or maliciously”