I. ˈ(h)akəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hakel, from Old English hacele cloak; akin to Old High German hachul mantle, Old Norse hökoll, Gothic hakuls, and probably to Old English hēcen kid, Middle Low German hōken kid, Old Slavic koza goat
now dialect England : any of various coverings: as
a. : the natural coat of an animal
b. : a bird's plumage
c. : a straw covering for a bee skep
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
dialect England : to cover with a hackle
III. ˈhakəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English hakell, hekele — more at hatchel
1. : a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute
2.
a. : one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird (as the domestic fowl)
b. : the neck plumage of the male domestic fowl — see cock illustration
3. hackles plural
a. : erectile hairs along the neck and back of a dog or other animal
b. : temper , dander
don't get your hackles up about nothing
4.
a. or hackle fly : an artificial fishing fly made chiefly of the filaments of a cock's neck feathers
b. : filaments of cock feather projecting downward from the head of an artificial fly — see fly illustration
IV. transitive verb
( hackled ; hackled ; hackling -k(ə)liŋ ; hackles )
1. : to separate the long fibers of (flax, hemp, or jute) from waste material and from each other by combing with a hackle
2. : to furnish (a fishing fly) with a hackle
V. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: freq. of hack (I)
: to chop up or chop off roughly : hack
VI. noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
: fracture (as of glass) that results in hackly edges
the coarser the hackle the more violent and sudden was the parting of the glass — C.J.Phillips
hackle marks
hackle structure