hackle
noun · verb
Simple meaning
One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
hakuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈhækəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
usually now in the plural
One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster.
usually now in the plural
By extension (because the hackles of a rooster are lifted when it is angry), the hair on the nape of the neck in dogs and other animals; also used figuratively for humans.
fishing
Long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants
An instrument with steel pins used to comb out flax or hemp.
fishing
A feather used to make a fishing lure or a fishing lure incorporating a feather.
A plate with rows of pointed needles used to blend or straighten hair.
verb
To dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle; to prepare fibres of flax or hemp for spinning.
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.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: One of the long, narrow feathers on the neck of birds, most noticeable on the rooster.
Used this way, hackle is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to dress (flax or hemp) with a hackle
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.