Lexic.us

Definition of Hackle

1. Noun. Long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants.

Definition of Hackle

1. n. A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.

2. v. t. To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.

Definition of Hackle

1. Noun. An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

2. Noun. (usually now in the plural) One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the cock. (defdate from 15th c.) ¹

3. Noun. (fishing) A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather. (defdate from 17th c.) ¹

4. Noun. (usually now in the plural) By extension (because the hackles of a cock are lifted when it's angry), the hair on the nape of the neck in dogs and other animals; also used figuratively for humans. (defdate from 19th c.) ¹

5. Noun. A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair. (defdate from 20th c.) ¹

6. Noun. A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet. ¹

7. Verb. To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning. (defdate from 17th c.) ¹

8. Verb. (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. ¹

9. Verb. (archaic transitive) To tear asunder; to break into pieces. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Hackle

1. to hack [v -LED, -LING, -LES] - See also: hack

Medical Definition of Hackle

1. 1. To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel. 2. To tear asunder; to break in pieces. "The other divisions of the kingdom being hackled and torn to pieces." (Burke) Origin: Hackled; Hackling. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hackle

Literary usage of Hackle

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Sportsman's Gazetteer and General Guide: The Game Animals, Birds and by Charles Hallock (1878)
"Abbey, Golden pheasant and red tail, brown hackle, dark grey wing. ... Silver Block* Black hackle, light black body, ribbed with silver tinsel, dark wing. ..."

2. American Game Fishes: Their Habits, Habitat, and Peculiarities; How, When by W. A. Perry (1892)
"BODY—Red silk, ribbed, gold, hackle carried op the entire length. ... hackle.—Black center, white tips. WINGS.—Medium dun feather from mallard under wing. ..."

3. Frank Forester's Fish and Fishing of the United States and British Provinces by Henry William Herbert (1859)
"hackle—Black, wrapped over the whole body with black silk for fastenings. Hook—No. ... Tho body of peacock's herl, wrapped with a black cock's hackle, ..."

4. The Sportsman's Gazetteer and General Guide: The Game Animals, Birds and by Charles Hallock (1877)
"A hackled fly ; body, orange, ribbed with gold tinsel; hackle, chicken red . wings, bright mottle of the mallard. Grizzly King. Nos. 8 and 9. ..."

5. Inheritance in Poultry by Charles Benedict Davenport (1906)
"Among most broken-colored poultry the hackle feathers are unlike those of the ... Usually the hackle has a dark band in the center and is margined or laced ..."

6. Baily's Magazine of Sports and Pastimes (1896)
"A brown ginger cock hackle. Body.—Dubbing of ruddy brown wire. Hook.—1 to 4. crewel, ... A honey dun hen hackle. Shoulder hackle.—Red game cock hackle. ..."

7. Favorite Flies and Their Histories by Mary Orvis Marbury (1892)
"Among them he mentions three for February, which are varied reproductions of the bonny red hackle, but called by Cotton the " Plain or Palmer hackle " and ..."

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