1. hackle - Noun
2. hackle - Verb
A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.
Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.
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.
An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.
To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.
To tear asunder; to break in pieces.
Source: Webster's dictionaryheckle hemp or flax Source: Internet
The full dress of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as worn by the entire regiment until 1914, included a racoon-skin hat (bearskin for officers) with a white hackle and a scarlet tunic with the dark blue facings of a Royal regiment. Source: Internet
The feathers of the chest, hackle and thighs are generally shorn completely off. Source: Internet
Separating the usable flax fibers from other components requires pulling the stems through a hackle and/or beating the plants to break them. Source: Internet