misseltoe

Noun

mistletoe (countable and uncountable, plural mistletoes)

1. Any of numerous hemiparasitic evergreen plants of the order Santalales with white berries that grow in the crowns of apple trees, oaks, and other trees, such as the European mistletoe (Viscum album) and American mistletoe or eastern mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).
   • (all obsolete or archaic)

   Synonyms:

   miseleden, misselden, misseldine

2. (uncountable) A sprig of one such plant used as a Christmas decoration, associated with the custom that a man may kiss any woman standing beneath it.
   • Miſtletoe! why I know what that is, as we garniſh our Houſe with it every Year, at Chriſtmas.1782, Benjamin Martin, “Dialogue VI. Reflections on the Wonderful Nature, and Singular Properties of Some Kinds of Plants, Shrubs, and Trees; Exemplified in Missltoe,^([sic]) Sensitive Plant, Bulbous...