- 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.