hatchel Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a comb for separating flax fibers
    heckle.
  2. verb comb with a heckle
    heckle; hackle.
    • heckle hemp or flax

WordNet

Hatch"el noun
Etymology
OE. hechele, hekele; akin to D. hekel, G. hechel, Dan. hegle, Sw. häkla, and prob. to E. hook. See Hook, and cf. Hackle, Heckle.
Definitions
  1. An instrument with long iron teeth set in a board, for cleansing flax or hemp from the tow, hards, or coarse part; a kind of large comb; -- called also hackle and heckle.
Hatch"el transitive verb
Etymology
OE. hechelen, hekelen; akin to D. hekelen, G. hecheln, Dan. hegle, Sw. häkla. See Hatchel, n.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hatcheled or Hatchelled ; present participle & verbal noun Hatcheling or Hatchelling
Definitions
  1. To draw through the teeth of a hatchel, as flax or hemp, so as to separate the coarse and refuse parts from the fine, fibrous parts.
  2. To tease; to worry; to torment. Colloq.

Webster 1913