hacklePronunciation: /ˈhak(ə)l/Definition of hackle noun 1 (hackles) erectile hairs along an animal’s back, which rise when it is angry or alarmed: the dog continued to growl, its hackles raised 2a long, narrow feather on the neck or saddle of a domestic cock or other bird. Fishing a feather wound around a fishing fly so that its filaments are splayed out. [mass noun] fly-fishing feathers collectively: raising birds for hackle a bunch of feathers in a military headdress, for example of a regiment of fusiliers or the Black Watch. 3a steel comb for dressing flax. verb [with object] dress or comb (flax) with a hackle: taking each section separately the student should lightly hackle the extreme endsPhrases make someone's hackles rise make someone angry or indignant. Origin: late Middle English (in hackle (sense 2 of the noun)): variant of hatchelhackle in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of hackle in the US English dictionary
