n. [ See Hatch a half door. ] [ Written also hack. ] 1. The bolt or latch of a door. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A rack for cattle to feed at. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A door, especially one partly of latticework; -- called also heck door. [ Prov. Eng. ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A latticework contrivance for catching fish. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Weaving) An apparatus for separating the threads of warps into sets, as they are wound upon the reel from the bobbins, in a warping machine. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A bend or winding of a stream. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Half heck, the lower half of a door. --
Heck board, the loose board at the bottom or back of a cart. --
Heck box or
Heck frame, that which carries the heck in warping. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. hell; -- a euphemism. Used commonly in the phrase “What the heck”. [ Colloq. ] [ PJC ]

n. (R. C. Ch.) (a) The teaching of Isaac Thomas Hecker (1819-88), which interprets Catholicism as promoting human aspirations after liberty and truth, and as the religion best suited to the character and institutions of the American people. (b) Improperly, certain views or principles erroneously ascribed to Father Hecker in a French translation of Elliott's Life of Hecker. They were condemned as “Americanism” by the Pope, in a letter to Cardinal Gibbons, January 22, 1899. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) The European blue titmouse (Parus cœruleus). [ Written also heckimel, hackeymal, hackmall, hagmall, and hickmall. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. & v. t. Same as Hackle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To interrogate, or ply with questions, esp. with severity or antagonism, as a candidate for the ministry.

Robert bore heckling, however, with great patience and adroitness. Mrs. Humphry Ward. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. To shout questions or jibes at (a public speaker), so as to disconcert him or render his talk ineffective. [ PJC ]

n. [ vb. n. from heckle{ 2 }. ] Shouting in order to interrupt a speech with which the shouter disagrees.
Syn. -- barracking. [ WordNet 1.5 ]