hackle

== English == === Etymology === 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. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈhækəl/ (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhækəl/ Rhymes: -ækəl === Noun === hackle (countable and uncountable, plural hackles) An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp. [from 15th c.] Synonyms: heckle, hatchel (usually now in the plural) One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster. [from 15th c.] (fishing) A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather. [from 17th c.] (usually now in the plural) 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. [from 19th c.] A type of jagged crack extending inwards from the broken surface of a fractured material. A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair. [from 20th c.] A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet. Synonyms: panache, plume Any flimsy substance unspun, such as raw silk. (uncountable, slang) Pluck; courage or energy. ==== Usage notes ==== In everyday speech, primarily used in phrase to raise someone's hackles (“to make one angry”), as in “It raises my hackles when you take that condescending tone”. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === hackle (third-person singular simple present hackles, present participle hackling, simple past and past participle hackled) To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning. [from 17th c.] (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. (archaic, transitive) To tear asunder; to break into pieces. ==== Derived terms ==== hackle up ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === hackle on Wikipedia.Wikipedia hackle (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia === Anagrams === Hackel, Kachel