▪ I. hackling, vbl. n.1
(ˈhæklɪŋ)
[f. hackle v.3 + -ing1.]
The action of the vb. hackle3; the combing of flax or hemp.
| 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 568 This line after it hath receiued braking and the first hackling, you shall take the strickes, and platting them into a plat of three, make a good bigge roule thereof. |
| attrib. 1875 Ure's Dict. Arts II. 420 In the early period of the linen manufacture, when spinning was done exclusively by hand, no hackling machines were employed. 1839 Stonehouse Axholme 29. 1849 E. Chamberlain Indiana Gazetteer (ed. 3) 132 A brick building, erected for a hackling house. |
▪ II. hackling
see also after hackle v.1 and v.4