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

She had saluted incorrectly, and I think she was wearing the wrong hackle.

From Slate • Nov. 19, 2020

The fly he used, and still relies on almost exclusively, is a brown pheasant-tail-and-partridge soft hackle.

From The New Yorker • Sep. 12, 2016

I can read for hours about bugs and knots and how to trick a fish with hair and hackle, but honestly, those are just the perks.

From New York Times • Jul. 31, 2014

A package of the most popular fly tying hackle for hair extensions, a black and white striped feather called grizzly saddle, would normally retail anywhere from $40 to $60.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 3, 2011

Every hackle on his body rose, and he knew that very soon she would, like all of her sisters before her, put to him the death-knell question “Where you been?”

From "Sula" by Toni Morrison

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