Noah Webster
Tease
TEASE, verb transitive s as z.
1. To comb or card, as wool or flax.
2. To scratch, as cloth in dressing, for the purpose of raising a nap.
3. To vex with importunity or impertinence; to harass, annoy, disturb or irritate by petty requests, or by jests and raillery. Parents are often teased by their children into unreasonable compliances.
My friends tease me about him, because he has no estate.