Fussel

== German == === Etymology === From Middle High German visel m or f. The modern form with -u- is a Central German variant. Further origin unknown. Probably related to German Faser. Compare in particular Dutch vezel. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈfʊsəl/, [ˈfʊsəl], [ˈfʊsl̩] (prescriptive standard) IPA(key): /ˈfʊzəl/, [ˈfʊzəl], [ˈfʊzl̩] (common variant; not restricted to accents with general voicing of /s/) === Noun === Fussel m or (rare) n (mixed or strong, genitive Fussels, plural Fusseln or Fussel) or Fussel f (genitive Fussel, plural Fusseln) fluff, lint of fabric, wool, etc. Synonym: Fluse ==== Usage notes ==== Some dictionaries give the word as exclusively or chiefly feminine, but the masculine gender seems now predominant. The neuter is rare. Fussel is one of a small number of German nouns which can or historically could have all three genders; see the appendix. ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== fusselig fusseln === Further reading === “Fussel”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[1] (in German) “Fussel” in Duden online