HACKLING

Verb

hackling

present participle of hackle

Anagrams

• chalking

Source: Wiktionary

HACKLE

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