hatchel

hatchel

English

Alternative forms

• hackle
• heckle

Etymology

From Middle English hechele, of West Germanic origin, related to the root of hook. Compare hackle.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ætʃəl

Noun

hatchel (plural hatchels)

1. A comb used to separate flax fibres.
   • 1864, George Ripley and Charles Anderson Dana [eds.], The New American Cyclopædia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge VII: “Edward–Fueros” (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 443 & 445 Broadway; London: 16 Little Britain), ‘Flax’, page 554

     One end of the bundle being hatchelled, it is turned round, and the other is treated in the same way; and the process is repeated on finer hatchels.

Verb

hatchel (third-person singular simple present hatchels, present participle hatchelling or hatcheling, simple past and past participle hatchelled or hatcheled)

1. (transitive) To separate (flax fibers) with a hatchel, or comb.