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The word HECKLE reminds me of those two awful magpies of cartoon fame, driving one crazy with their constant jabbering and heckling. The original meaning of the word is not immediately recognizable, since it was used mainly in the cloth-making industry of the middle ages.
During medieval times, cloth spinners used mainly the material called Flax, which was a vegetable fiber. They were quite strong but were difficult to prepare and spin, given the limited knowledge and resources of that age. In a latter operation, the fibers would be combed by hand, using a brush instrument with iron teeth called a HECKLE. The word is Anglo-Saxon in origin, taken from hecel (to split). In later years, the word began to take on a more specific meaning: “scratch with steel brush” or “check for weak points”.
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