Tousled
/ˈtaʊ.zəld/noun
Having hair or fabric made untidy or disordered.
Did you know?Tousled comes from an older word meaning to handle or pull about roughly, and its history is tied to the idea of rough twisting rather than natural beauty.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*teuh₂-
“to swell, be strong”
Old English
Old English
tǣsan
“to card, tease out fibers”
Middle English
Middle English
touselen
“to rumple, handle roughly”
16th Century
English
tousle
“to disarrange or rumple hair or clothing”
Modern English
English
tousled
“made untidy or disordered, especially hair”