hackle

1
[ hak-uh l ]
/ ˈhæk əl /

noun

verb (used with object), hack·led, hack·ling.

Angling. to equip with a hackle.
to comb, as flax or hemp.

Idioms for hackle

    raise one's hackles, to arouse one's anger: Such officiousness always raises my hackles.
Also hatchel, heckle (for defs 5, 7).

Origin of hackle

1
1400–50; late Middle English hakell; see heckle

OTHER WORDS FROM hackle

hack·ler, noun

Words nearby hackle

hackery, hackette, hackie, hacking, hacking jacket, hackle, hackle fly, hackleback, hackles, hackly, hackman

British Dictionary definitions for raise one's hackles

hackle
/ (ˈhækəl) /

noun

any of the long slender feathers on the necks of poultry and other birds
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
a feathered ornament worn in the headdress of some British regiments
a steel flax comb

verb (tr)

to comb (flax) using a hackle
See also hackles

Derived forms of hackle

hackler, noun

Word Origin for hackle

C15: hakell, probably from Old English; variant of heckle; see hatchel

Idioms and Phrases with raise one's hackles

raise one's hackles

Make one very angry, as in That really raised my hackles when he pitched straight at the batter's head. Hackles are the hairs on the back of an animal's neck, which stick up when the animal feels fearful or angry. [Late 1800s]