hatchel
English
[edit]
Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English hechele, of West Germanic origin, related to the root of hook. Compare hackle.
Pronunciation
[edit]- Rhymes: -ætʃəl
Noun
[edit]hatchel (plural hatchels)
- A comb used to separate flax fibers.
- 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.
- 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
Verb
[edit]hatchel (third-person singular simple present hatchels, present participle hatchelling or hatcheling, simple past and past participle hatchelled or hatcheled)
- (transitive) To separate (flax fibers) with a hatchel, or comb.