hackle

[hak-uh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hackle ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

the neck plumage of a male bird, as the domestic rooster.

hackles,

the erectile hair on the back of an animal's neck: At the sound of footsteps, the dog raised her hackles.
anger, especially when aroused in a challenging or challenged manner: with one's hackles up.

Angling.

the legs of an artificial fly made with feathers from the neck or saddle of a rooster or other such bird.
hackle fly.

a comb for dressing flax or hemp.

verb (used with object), hack·led, hack·ling.

Angling. to equip with a hackle.

to comb, as flax or hemp.

Nearby words

Idioms

raise one's hackles, to arouse one's anger: Such officiousness always raises my hackles.

Also hatchel, heckle (for defs 5, 7).

Origin of hackle

1400–50; late Middle English hakell; see heckle

Related formshack·ler, noun

hackle

[hak-uh l]

verb (used with object), hack·led, hack·ling.

to cut roughly; hack; mangle.

Origin of hackle

1570–80; hack¹ + -le; cognate with Middle Dutch hakkelen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hackle

That nasty little freckle-faced young 60 one from Dogtown will never get a foot of Hackle Islandyoull see!
The Campfire Girls on Station Island|Margaret Penrose
Be sure that the hackle is tied on edgewise with the shiny side to the front.
How to Tie Flies|E. C. Gregg
The body and hackle, when put on, should therefore appear as shown in Fig. 14.
Old Flies in New Dresses|Charles Edward Walker
The shells are shredded, the feathers are caked and bitten, the hackle is frazzled and frayed out.
The Tent Dwellers|Albert Bigelow Paine

Dey would den put de flax on a hackle, a board wid a lot of pegs in it.
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves, North Carolina Narratives, Part 2|Work Projects Administration

British Dictionary definitions for hackle

hackle

noun

any of the long slender feathers on the necks of poultry and other birds

angling

parts of an artificial fly made from hackle feathers, representing the legs and sometimes the wings of a real fly
short for hackle fly

a feathered ornament worn in the headdress of some British regiments

a steel flax comb

verb (tr)

to comb (flax) using a hackle

Word Origin for hackle

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

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

Word Origin and History for hackle

hackle

Old English hacele "cloak, mantle" (cf. Old High German hachul, Gothic hakuls "cloak;" Old Norse hekla "hooded frock"). Sense of "bird plumage" is first recorded early 15c., though this might be from unrelated Middle English hackle "flax comb" (see heckle (n.)) on supposed resemblance of comb to ruffled feathers. Metaphoric extension found in raise one's hackles (as a cock does when angry) is first recorded 1881.

hackle

noun

verb (used with object), hack·led, hack·ling.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of hackle

hackle

verb (used with object), hack·led, hack·ling.

Origin of hackle

Examples from the Web for hackle

hackle

noun

verb (tr)

Word Origin for hackle

hackle