verbWord forms: hockles, hockled or hockling(intransitive)
Northumbria dialect
to spit
hockle in American English
(ˈhɑkəl) (verb-led, -ling)
intransitive verb
1. (of a rope)
to have the yarns spread and kinked through twisting in use
noun
2.
the spreading and kinking of the yarns in a rope strand
Word origin
[perh. hock1 + -le]-le is a suffix of verbs having a frequentative force. Other words that use the affix-le include: gentle, jostle, mingle, waggle, whittle