Meanings
plural hatchels · alternative hetchel
- A comb used to separate flax fibers.
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
present singular third person hatchels · US participle present hatcheling · UK participle present hatchelling · US participle past hatcheled · US past hatcheled · UK participle past hatchelled · UK past hatchelled · alternative hetchel
- transitiveTo separate (flax fibers) with a hatchel, or comb.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishhechele
- Englishhatchel
From Middle English hechele, of West Germanic origin, related to the root of hook. Doublet of hackle and heckle.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with hatchel
All rhymes →Cite this entry
hatchel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hatchel
“hatchel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hatchel. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hatchel,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hatchel.
Source: hatchel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.