Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - hackle

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English hakell; akin to Old High German hako hook — more at hook  Date: 15th century  1.  a. one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or saddle of a bird  b. the neck plumage of the domestic fowl  2. a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute  3. plural  a. erectile hairs along the neck and back especially of a dog  b. temper, dander the issue raised some ~s  4.  a. an artificial fishing fly made chiefly of the filaments of a cock's neck feathers  b. filaments of cock feather projecting from the head of an artificial fly  II. transitive verb  (~d; hackling)  Date: 1616 to comb out with a ~  • ~r noun