Heckle


[hek-uh l] /ˈhɛk əl/

verb (used with object), heckled, heckling.
1.
to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger.
2.
1 (def 7).
noun
3.
1 (def 5).
/ˈhɛkəl/
verb
1.
to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts
2.
(transitive) Also hackle, hatchel. to comb (hemp or flax)
noun
3.
an instrument for combing flax or hemp
v.

early 14c., “to comb (flax or hemp) with a heckle;” from heckle (n.) or from related Middle Dutch hekelen. Figurative meaning “to question severely in a bid to uncover weakness” is from late 18c. “Long applied in Scotland to the public questioning of parliamentary candidates” [OED]. Related: Heckled; heckling.
n.

“flax comb,” c.1300, hechel, perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *hecel or a cognate Germanic word (cf. Middle High German hechel, Middle Dutch hekel), from Proto-Germanic *hakila-, from PIE *keg- “hook, tooth” (see hook).

Read Also:

  • Heckler

    [hek-uh l] /ˈhɛk əl/ verb (used with object), heckled, heckling. 1. to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger. 2. 1 (def 7). noun 3. 1 (def 5). /ˈhɛkəl/ verb 1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts 2. (transitive) Also hackle, hatchel. […]

  • Heckling

    [hek-uh l] /ˈhɛk əl/ verb (used with object), heckled, heckling. 1. to harass (a public speaker, performer, etc.) with impertinent questions, gibes, or the like; badger. 2. 1 (def 7). noun 3. 1 (def 5). /ˈhɛkəl/ verb 1. to interrupt (a public speaker, performer, etc) by comments, questions, or taunts 2. (transitive) Also hackle, hatchel. […]

  • Heckuva

    [hek-uh-vuh] /ˈhɛk ə və/ adjective, adverb, Pronunciation Spelling. 1. heck of a. Compare 1 (def 2).

  • Hect-

    1. variant of before a vowel: hectare.

  • Hectare

    [hek-tair] /ˈhɛk tɛər/ noun 1. a unit of surface, or land, measure equal to 100 , or 10,000 square meters: equivalent to 2.471 acres. Abbreviation: ha. /ˈhɛktɑː/ noun 1. one hundred ares. 1 hectare is equivalent to 10 000 square metres or 2.471 acres ha n. 1810, from French hectare “a hundred ares,” formed from […]


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