hackles
hackles Lexical Profile
hackles Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A state of anger, hostility, or defensive indignation (used especially in phrases such as 'raise someone's hackles').
"His condescending tone immediately raised the hackles of everyone on the committee."
Erectile hairs along the back of the neck of a dog or other mammal, or the long neck feathers of a domestic rooster or other bird, which rise when the animal is angry, frightened, or alarmed.
"The stray dog growled softly, its hackles rising as the stranger approached the gate."
Word Nuance & Usage
Most commonly encountered in the figurative idioms 'raise someone's hackles' or 'get someone's hackles up', meaning to provoke anger or defensiveness.
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English hakel ('comb for dressing flax'), of Germanic origin and related to hook; the sense shifted to the long neck feathers of a rooster and later to the erectile hairs on an animal's back.