WordGarden.iohackle
C2Pronunciation
UK
- /hˈækəl/
US
- /ˈhækəl/
Meanings
Noun
erectile hairs or feathers on an animal's neck or back
anger or defensiveness, especially in the phrase raise someone's hackles
a long neck or saddle feather from a bird, often used in fly tying
More meaningsFewer meanings
a comb-like tool with metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or similar fiber
Verb
to comb or dress flax, hemp, or similar fiber with a hackle
Beyond the definition
Imagine a dog whose hair stands up when it senses danger: those are its hackles. Most often, we meet this word in the phrase "raise someone's hackles," which means to make someone feel annoyed, angry, or defensive. The word also has an older textile meaning. A hackle was a spiked comb used to prepare flax or hemp for spinning, and to hackle meant to comb those fibers. Whether you are talking about an animal bristling or a person reacting strongly, the idea is the same: something has been stirred up.
The word "hackle" has a fascinating history rooted in both nature and industry. Originally, to hackle meant to comb flax or hemp with a tool called a hackle, a frame fitted with sharp metal pins. This separated the fibers and prepared them for spinning into linen. The noun also referred to the tool itself.
In animals, hackles are the long feathers on a bird's neck, or the hairs along a dog's neck and back that rise when it is alarmed or aggressive. When these rise, the animal looks larger and more threatening. That image led to the common idiom "to raise someone's hackles," which means to make someone angry, offended, or defensive. For example: "His insensitive comments really raised her hackles," or "The suggestion that he was unqualified set his hackles up."
Interestingly, the word "heckle," which means to interrupt or harass a speaker, is historically related to "hackle." The connection is the same prickly, provoking feeling. So whether you are talking about preparing linen, watching an animal bristle, or feeling offended yourself, "hackle" carries the sense of something being combed up, stirred up, or made to stand on end.
Examples
- 1
Public reaction
The mayor's remarks raised hackles across the city.
- Phraseraise hackles
make people feel angry or offended
- 2
Personal offense
My hackles rose when he joked about my accent.
- Phrasesomeone's hackles rise
they start to feel angry or defensive
- 3
Local opposition
The new policy got local residents' hackles up almost immediately.
- Phraseget someone's hackles up
make them feel annoyed, offended, or ready to argue
See also
Forms and spellings
4 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- hacklenounverb
Forms
- hacklespluralnounverb
- hackledpast tenseverbnoun
- hackling-ing formverbnoun