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Webster 1828 Edition

Noun.

The skin of flax; the filaments of flax or hemp.

A filamentous substance.

[In New England, I have heard this word pronounced herl.]

herl ‎(plural herls)

(obsolete) A strand of hair
The fibrous shaft or barb of a feather (especially that of the ostrich or peacock) used to make artificial flies for angling
An artificial fly made with this barb