Hazel

(hā'zl), n. [A-S. hāsl, hāsel, N. H. Ger. hasel, O. H. Ger. hasal, hasul, hasala, Icel. hasl, Dan. & Sw. hassel, D. hazelaar, allied to Lat. corylus, for cosilus.] (Bot.) A shrub or plant of the genus Corylus, as the C. avellana, bearing a nut containing a kernel of a mild, farinaceous taste; the filbert. The American species are C. Americana, which produces the common hazel-nut, and C. rostrata. Gray.