An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Hechel

by Friedrich Kluge

Hechel, feminine, ‘flax-comb,’ from Middle High German hęchel, also hachel, feminine: compare Dutch hekel; Middle English hechele, English hatchel and hackle; wanting in Old Icelandic; Swedish häckla, Danish hegle (Gothic *hakila, *hakula, is assumed). Probably allied to Old High German and Middle High German hęcchen, hecken (hakjan), ‘to pierce’ (especially of snakes), and further to the cognates of Hafen (English hook). Gothic hakuls, ‘cloak,’ Old High German hahhul, Middle High German hachel, masculine, Old Icelandic hǫkull, masculine, Anglo-Saxon hacele, ‘cloak,’ are not allied; they belong rather to a conjectural Gothic *hôka, feminine, ‘goat’ (Anglo-Saxon hêcen, ‘kid,’ from Gothic *hôkein, neuter; see under Geiß), and hence probably mean ‘hairy garment.’ See also Hecht.