hackle

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp.
2. (countable, in-plural, uncountable, usually) One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster.
3. (countable, uncountable) A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather.
4. (countable, in-plural, uncountable, usually) 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.
5. (countable, uncountable) A type of jagged crack extending inwards from the broken surface of a fractured material.
6. (countable, uncountable) A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair.
7. (countable, uncountable) A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet.
8. (countable, uncountable) Any flimsy substance unspun, such as raw silk.
9. (slang, uncountable) Pluck; courage or energy.

Verb

1. To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning.
2. (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.
3. (archaic, transitive) To tear asunder; to break into pieces.

Synonyms

hatchel

comb

heckle

card

curry

🍛

cut

dress

👗

fell

hack

hash

#️⃣

mangle

saw

🪚

sawtooth

serrate

serration

sever

shear

slice

strip

tease

zigzag

comb wool

brush

saw-shaped

carve

chop

clip

Translations

pettinare

pettine

zerkleinern

mosca artificiale con penne

pelo del collo

penne lunghe del collo

rastrillar

hekel

rastrillo

munire di penne

ξαίνω

λαναρίζω

séran

Bürstenreinigungskamm

concasser

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhækəl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: hakle

Inherited from Old English: hæcla

Cognate with Dutch: hekel

Cognate with German: Hechel

In summary

From Middle English hakle (compare the compound meshakele), from Old English hæcla, hacele, from Proto-Germanic *hakulǭ, equivalent to hack + -le. Cognate with Dutch hekel, German Hechel.