Here's a breakdown:
* Heckle (verb): Originally meant "to comb flax or wool," likely stemming from the Old Norse word "hekla" meaning "to scrape, to comb."
* Heckle (noun): Later, the word came to refer to the tool itself used for combing flax or wool.
* Heckle (verb, figurative): By the 16th century, "heckle" began to be used figuratively to mean "to harass with teasing or questions." This was likely due to the rough, vigorous action of combing flax with a heckle, which mirrored the aggressive nature of harassment.
* Heckler (noun): By the 19th century, the word "heckler" emerged to refer to a person who heckles, especially one who interrupts a speaker or performer with rude or disruptive comments.
Therefore, the word "heckler" originated from the physical process of combing flax and evolved to describe the figurative act of harassing someone verbally.