From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
hackle \hac"kle\ (h[a^]k"k'l), noun [See {Heckle}, and cf. {Hatchel}.]
1. A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.
2. Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.
3. One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock, -- often used in making artificial flies; hence, any feather so used.
4. An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Hackle \Hac"kle\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Hackled} (h[a^]k"k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Hackling} (h[a^]k"kl[i^]ng).]
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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Hatchel \Hatch"el\ (-[e^]l; 277), noun [OE. hechele, hekele; akin to D. hekel, G. hechel, Dan. hegle, Sw. h["a]kla, and prob. to E. hook. See {Hook}, and cf. {Hackle}, {Heckle}.] An instrument with long iron teeth set in a board, for cleansing flax or hemp from the tow, hards, or coarse part; a kind of large comb; -- called also {hackle} and {heckle}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants
verb
1: comb with a heckle; "heckle hemp or flax" [syn: {heckle}, {hatchel}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
24 Moby Thesaurus words for "hackle": card, comb, covert, crest, curry, feather, feathers, hack, haggle, hatchel, heckle, mail, panache, pinion, plumage, plume, plumule, quill, rake, scapular, slash, speculum, topknot, tuft
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