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heckle

verb
/ˈhɛkəl/

Etymology

Transferred usage of Middle English hekelen (“to comb flax or hemp with a heckle”), from hekele (“a comb for flax or hemp”), from Middle Dutch hekelen (“to prickle, irritate”), from Proto-West Germanic *hakilōn, from Proto-Germanic *hakilōną, related to *hakô (“hook”). Related to hackle.

  1. derived from *hakilōną✻
  2. derived from *hakilōn✻
  3. derived from hekelen
  4. derived from hekelen

Definitions

  1. To question harshly in an attempt to find or reveal weaknesses.

  2. To insult, tease, make fun of or badger, especially during a comedy performance.

    • Promise that you won't heckle me after my performance.
    • As late as 1854, the antichoir members of an Ohio Methodist congregation heckled the choir whenever it tried to sing, hoping to "bring discredit on the singers by creating discord."
    • […] Internet postings, speeches, heckling, cartoons, faxes, composites, noises, threats, incitements, videos, ads, prayers, classes, live and filmed nudity (frontal, sideal, backal), defamation, blasphemy, and digital communication […]

  3. To prepare (flax) for spinning, using special combs called hackles.

  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. Alternative form of hackle (“tool for separating flax”).

    2. The long shining feathers on a cock's neck.

    3. A feather ornament in the full-dress bonnets of Highland regiments.

    4. An rude interruption during a show, especially a comedy performance

      • The stand-up dealt well with the heckles from the crowd, replying with raucous banter to raise plenty of laughs.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for heckle. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA