🐕 Raised neck hairs 🧵 To comb fibers 😾 To raise hairs 🪶 A neck feather

to hackle

9.5

To comb plant fibers like flax or hemp to make them straight and clean

verb
/ˈhækəl/

Specialized

: peinar

Before spinning, the workers would hackle the flax to remove impurities.

Examples

In traditional rope-making, hemp is often hackled several times for quality.
The artisan skillfully began to hackle the fibers, preparing them for weaving.
Don't hackle too fast!
She will hackle the flax fibers for the weaving project.
Before spinning, the workers would hackle the flax fibers to ensure they are clean and straight.
In traditional textile processes, artisans often hackle wool to remove any debris before use.
The craftsman carefully hackled the plant fibers, making them ready for the next steps in weaving.

Synonyms

to heckle

vsto hackle

Archaic

9.9

To comb flax or hemp fibers using a tool with sharp teeth before spinning

is broader, also used for wool and to straighten and clean fibers

to hatchel

vsto hackle

Archaic

9.9

To comb flax or hemp to separate the long fibers for spinning

is the general term rather than the variant spelling

Compounds

saddle hackle

Specialized

9.9

A long narrow feather from a chicken's back used for making fishing flies or decoration

How Aligned

to hackle

Specialized

9.5

to card

Specialized

1 8.6

to comb

77 1.0

to untangle

10 3.5

Surface Forms

hackle infinitive

hackled past

hackled past participle

hackling present participle

hackles third person singular

Etymology

Hackle was also the name of a comb with sharp pins used to clean and straighten plant fibres like flax or hemp. To hackle is to use that comb, preparing the fibres for spinning or rope-making.