hatchel

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English

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Hatchel for threshing flax.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hatchel (plural hatchels)

  1. 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.

Verb

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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.

Derived terms

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