Definition

1. Noun:

   • A small tree or shrub of the genus Corylus: A plant that produces edible nuts (hazelnuts or filberts) enclosed in a leafy husk.
   • The wood of the hazel tree: A fine-grained wood from trees of the genus Corylus or the Australian genus Pomaderris.
   • A color: A light brownish color, often with yellowish, reddish, or greenish tints, commonly used to describe eye color.

2. Adjective:

   • Of a hazel color: Having a light brown or yellowish-brown color, especially describing eyes.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Plant):
  • The hazel is beginning to flower in the hedgerow.
  • We gathered hazelnuts from the hazel in the garden.
• Noun (Wood):
  • The walking stick was carved from sturdy hazel.
• Noun (Color):
  • Her eyes were a striking shade of hazel.
• Adjective:
  • He has distinctive hazel eyes that seem to change color in the light.

Advanced Usage

• "Hazel" in descriptive botany: Refers specifically to plants within the genus .
  • The European hazel (Corylus avellana) is the most common species.
• Poetic/Literary use for color: Often used to describe variable or luminous eye color.
  • Her gaze, a mix of green and gold, was truly hazel.

Variants and Related Words

• Hazelnut (n): The edible nut of the hazel tree.
  • She added chopped hazelnuts to the cake batter.
• Hazelwood (n): Wood from a hazel tree.
  • The small box was made of polished hazelwood.

Synonyms

• For the color: Light brown, tawny, amber (when describing eyes).
• For the tree/shrub: Filbert (a common name for certain cultivated hazels).

Related Phrases

• Hazel eyes: A common phrase describing eyes of a mixed light brown, green, and gold color.
  • It's rare to find someone with true hazel eyes.

Adjective

1. of a light brown or yellowish brown color

Noun

1. a shade of brown that is yellowish or reddish; it is a greenish shade of brown when used to describe the color of someone's eyes
2. any of several shrubs or small trees of the genus Corylus bearing edible nuts enclosed in a leafy husk
3. the fine-grained wood of a hazelnut tree (genus Corylus) and the hazel tree (Australian genus Pomaderris)
4. Australian tree grown especially for ornament and its fine-grained wood and bearing edible nuts