word: heckle

heck·le (hkl) tr.v. heck·led, heck·ling, heck·les 1. To try to embarrass and annoy (someone speaking or performing in public) by questions, gibes, or objections; badger. 2. To comb (flax or hemp) with a hatchel. [Middle English hekelen, to comb with a hatchel, from hekel, hatchel, from Middle Dutch; see keg- in Indo-European roots.] heckler n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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heckle (ˈhɛkəl)

vb

1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts

2. (Mechanical Engineering) Also: hackle or hatchel to comb (hemp or flax)

n

3. (Mechanical Engineering) an instrument for combing flax or hemp

[C15: Northern and East Anglian form of hackle]

ˈheckler n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003

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heck•le (ˈhɛk əl)

v.t. -led, -ling.

to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like.

[1275–1325; Middle English hekelen, variant of hechelen to comb flax; akin to hackle¹]

heck′ler, n.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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heckle – First a “flax comb” for splitting and straightening the fibers for spinning; its metaphorical sense developed from its verb form, “to mangle by cutting, to cut roughly.”

See also related terms for spinning.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.