HACKLE

hackle

(noun) long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants

heckle, hackle, hatchel

(verb) comb with a heckle; “heckle hemp or flax”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology

Noun

hackle (plural hackles)

An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp. [from 15th c.]

Synonyms: heckle, hatchel

(usually, now in the plural) One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster. [from 15th c.]

(fishing) A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather. [from 17th c.]

(usually, now in the plural) By extension (because the hackles of a rooster are lifted when it is angry), the hair on the nape of the neck in dogs and other animals; also used figuratively for humans. [from 19th c.]

A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair. [from 20th c.]

A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet.

Synonyms: panache, plume

Any flimsy substance unspun, such as raw silk.

Usage notes

In everyday speech, primarily used in phrase to raise someone's hackles (“to make one angry”), as in “It raises my hackles when you take that condescending tone.”.

Verb

hackle (third-person singular simple present hackles, present participle hackling, simple past and past participle hackled)

To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning. [from 17th c.]

(transitive) To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.

(archaic, transitive) To tear asunder; to break into pieces.

Anagrams

• Hackel

Source: Wiktionary

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Hac"kle, n. Etym: [See Heckle, and cf. Hatchel.]

1. A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.

2. Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.

3. One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock, -- often used in making artificial flies; hence, any feather so used.

4. An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.

Hac"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hackled; p. pr. & vb. n. Hackling.]

1. To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.

2. To tear asunder; to break in pieces. The other divisions of the kingdom being hackled and torn to pieces. Burke.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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