Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hackle \Hac"kle\, n. [See {Heckle}, and cf. {Hatchel}.]
   1. A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.

   2. Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.

   3. 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.

   4. An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.

Hackle \Hac"kle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hackled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Hackling}.]
   1. To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the
      fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or
      hatchel.

   2. To tear asunder; to break in pieces.

            The other divisions of the kingdom being hackled and
            torn to pieces.                       --Burke.

Source : WordNet®

hackle
     n : long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and
         pheasants

hackle
     v : comb with a heckle; "heckle hemp or flax" [syn: {heckle}, {hatchel}]