- frazzle (v.)
- c.1825, "to unravel" (of clothing), from East Anglian variant of 17c. fasel "to unravel, fray" (like the end of a rope), from Middle English facelyn "to fray" (mid-15c.), from fasylle "fringe, frayed edge," diminutive of Old English fæs "fringe."
Cf. German Faser "thread, fiber, filament," Middle Dutch vese "fringe, fiber, chaff." Probably influenced in form by fray (v.). Related: Frazzled. As a noun, from 1865, American English.