The Collaborative International Dictionary
Mistletoe \Mis"tle*toe\, n. [AS. mistelt[=a]n; mistel mistletoe
+ t[=a]n twig. AS. mistel is akin of D., G., Dan. & Sw.
mistel, OHG. mistil, Icel. mistilteinn; and AS. t[=a]n to D.
teen, OHG. zein, Icel. teinn, Goth. tains. Cf. Missel.]
(Bot.)
A parasitic evergreen plant of Europe ( Viscum album),
bearing a glutinous fruit. When found upon the oak, where it
is rare, it was an object of superstitious regard among the
Druids. A bird lime is prepared from its fruit. [Written also
misletoe, misseltoe, and mistleto.]
--Lindley.
--Loudon.
Note: The mistletoe of the United States is Phoradendron serotinum (syn. Phoradendron flavescens), having broader leaves than the European kind. In different regions various similar plants are called by this name. The mistletoe is used as a decoration at Christmas time, and it is a tradition that two persons of the oposite sex finding each other under a mistletoe sprig should kiss.
Wiktionary
n. (archaic form of mistletoe English)
Usage examples of "misseltoe".
In the case of the misseltoe, which draws its nourishment from certain trees, which has seeds that must be transported by certain birds, and which has flowers with separate sexes absolutely requiring the agency of certain insects to bring pollen from one flower to the other, it is equally preposterous to account for the structure of this parasite, with its relations to several distinct organic beings, by the effects of external conditions, or of habit, or of the volition of the plant itself.