hackle

¹ American  

[hak-uhl] / ˈhæk əl /

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.

   2. hackle fly.

5. a comb for dressing flax or hemp.

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verb (used with object)

hackled, hackling

1. Angling. to equip with a hackle.

2. to comb, as flax or hemp.

idioms

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

   Such officiousness always raises my hackles.

hackle ² American  

[hak-uhl] / ˈhæk əl /

verb (used with object)

hackled, hackling

1. to cut roughly; hack; mangle.

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hackle British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to comb (flax) using a hackle

Other Word Forms

• hackler noun

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

He padded slowly forwards: head down, hackles raised.

From Literature

Such a move would raise hackles in Turkey, which has fought a decades-long bloody conflict with the Kurdish militant group PKK, which it is now seeking to end.

From Barron's

It was supposed to be published in 2023, the culmination of a direct-democracy initiative that immediately raised the hackles of agriculture lobbies that accused the government of threatening their livelihoods.

From Barron's

Goose’s hackles rose along her back, and she began to bark in high, terrified yaps.

From Literature

Brennan began to ask if Ross was back on the street and working in Minneapolis when Noem got her hackles up.

From Salon

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