hackle

from The Century Dictionary.

• To hack roughly; haggle. See haggle.
• noun A conical covering of straw or hay, such as is used to thatch a beehive.
• To comb, as flax or hemp: same as heckle.
• To tear asunder.
• noun One of the long hairs which, when erected, form a crest along the neck and back of a dog.
• In angling, to dress (an artificial fly) with hackle.
• noun A comb for dressing flax: same as heckle, 1.
• noun Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.
• noun One of the long slender feathers from the neck or saddle of the domestic cock, much used by anglers for making artificial flies.
• noun An artificial fly made without wings to represent a caterpillar or other larva, or the larva-like body of a winged fly; a palmer.
• noun In heraldry, same as bray, 2 .

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.
• noun Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.
• noun One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock, -- often used in making artificial flies; hence, any feather so used.
• noun An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.
• transitive verb To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.
• transitive verb To tear asunder; to break in pieces.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun A feather plume on some soldier's uniforms, especially the hat or helmet.
• verb transitive To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.
• verb archaic, transitive To tear asunder; to break into pieces.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• verb comb with a heckle
• noun long slender feather on the necks of e.g. turkeys and pheasants