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Glite Dictionary
tasseling

tasseling

6.7
The stage when corn plants grow tassels at the top and start to release pollen
  • noun
  • /ˈtæsəlɪŋ/
  • Specialized
translation icon : floración
  • He saw himself sprouting leaves the length of his arms, his hair tasseling, ears of sweet corn hanging full and heavy from his body.

Examples

  • The corn is in the tasseling stage, which means it is ready for pollination.

  • And so you can get secondary tasseling on these side shoots.

  • It's just starting to form some tassels right here, which is exciting.

  • Oh, there is some corn tasseling some some corn from our late in the game, Our our failed corn.

  • He's green as tasseling corn.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Interestingly, tissue sampling (ear flag leaf) at tasseling indicated a lower available level of zinc and manganese.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Farmers monitor the tasseling of corn closely to ensure a good harvest.

  • During the tasseling period, the plants grow tall and produce flowers at the top.

Surface Forms

tasseling singular
tasselings plural

Morphology

tasseling = tassel (transparent) = tassel + ing

The word is a regular -ing formation from 'tassel', and the agricultural sense is directly based on the appearance of tassels on the corn plant.

Etymology

Tasseling comes from the word tassel, which means a small hanging tuft like the little decoration on a hat or curtain and is easy to remember as a 'tuft'. So tasseling is when corn plants make those tassel tufts at the top, marking the start of pollination.