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View synonyms for hackle

hackle

1

[ hak-uhl ]

noun

  1. one of the long, slender feathers on the neck or saddle of certain birds, as the domestic rooster, much used in making artificial flies for anglers.
  2. the neck plumage of a male bird, as the domestic rooster.
  3. hackles,
    1. the erectile hair on the back of an animal's neck:

      At the sound of footsteps, the dog raised her hackles.

    2. anger, especially when aroused in a challenging or challenged manner:

      with one's hackles up.

  4. Angling.
    1. the legs of an artificial fly made with feathers from the neck or saddle of a rooster or other such bird.
  5. a comb for dressing flax or hemp.


verb (used with object)

, hack·led, hack·ling.
  1. Angling. to equip with a hackle.
  2. to comb, as flax or hemp.

hackle

2

[ hak-uhl ]

verb (used with object)

, hack·led, hack·ling.
  1. to cut roughly; hack; mangle.

hackle

/ ˈhækəl /

noun

  1. any of the long slender feathers on the necks of poultry and other birds
  2. angling
    1. parts of an artificial fly made from hackle feathers, representing the legs and sometimes the wings of a real fly
    2. short for hackle fly
  3. a feathered ornament worn in the headdress of some British regiments
  4. a steel flax comb
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to comb (flax) using a hackle
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈhackler, noun
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Other Words From

  • hackler noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hackle1

First recorded in 1450–1400; late Middle English hakel(e), hakle “animal's skin; bird's plumage”; heckle

Origin of hackle2

First recorded in 1560–70; hack 1 + -le; cognate with Middle Dutch hakkelen
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hackle1

C15: hakell, probably from Old English; variant of heckle ; see hatchel
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. raise one's hackles, to arouse one's anger:

    Such officiousness always raises my hackles.

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Example Sentences

His current nominee, former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi, isn't raising as many hackles, despite her threats to arrest prosecutors for enforcing the law against those who attempted to overturn the 2020 election.

From Salon

Feline lovers in Kenya’s capital have been twitching over the threat of what is perceived as a “cat tax” - and any talk of tax in the East African nation raises the hackles.

From BBC

The ghastly cat’s hackles grew higher as he meant to pounce and claw me out.

But the new medal has raised hackles among purists because of a key difference: It was redesigned to feature a large banner for Bank of America, the race’s corporate sponsor, along the bottom edge.

The fact that the 71-year-old president had initially threatened military action against Niger was what really raised hackles.

From BBC

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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