Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A female bird, especially the adult female of the domestic fowl.
- n. The female of certain aquatic animals, such as an octopus or lobster.
- n. Slang A woman, especially a fussy or nosy old woman.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The female of the domestic fowl: opposed to cock.
- n. Any female bird; especially, used attributively, equivalent to female: as, hen canary, hen sparrow, etc.
- n. In a general sense, the common domestic or barn-yard fowl (Gallus domesticus), or any specimen of this fowl, in all its varieties and without regard to gender; a chicken. See Gallus.
- n. A bivalve mollusk of the family Veneridæ and genus Tapes. At Hereford in England the name is given to two species, T. decussata, the purr, and T. aurea. See hen-clam.
- Hence: the more original form.
- To throw.
- To back down in a cowardly way; funk out: as, he henned at the last minute.
Wiktionary
- adv. dialectal Hence.
- v. dialectal To throw.
- n. A female bird.
- n. specifically A female chicken, especially one kept for its eggs.
- n. slang A woman.
- n. informal The woman whose impending marriage is being celebrated at a hen night.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) The female of the domestic fowl; also, the female of grouse, pheasants, or any kind of birds
WordNet 3.0
- n. adult female chicken
- n. adult female bird
- n. female of certain aquatic animals e.g. octopus or lobster
- n. flesh of an older chicken suitable for stewing
Etymologies
- From Middle English, from Old English henn, hænn ("hen, female chicken"), from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kana- (“to sing”). Cognate with Dutch hen ("hen"), German Henne ("hen"), Icelandic hæna ("hen"). Related also to Old English hana ("cock, rooster"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Old English. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term hen-cocks is, in consequence, often applied to them; but although the sickle feathers are thus modified, no bird possesses higher courage, or a more gallant carriage.”
“These perky women, whose tops spell out the word "hen," resemble, at times, cheerleaders; the prominent men playing the tale's animals likewise have identifying letters on their T-shirts, somewhat like sports jerseys.”
“There are still a few situations in which I would put a decoy out but a hen is all you need.”
“He seems genuinely excited about being able to tell us that pigs prefer to be clean, and that a mother hen is as protective of her young as, well, a mother hen.”
“When a hen is about to begin laying she makes a cackling noise for several days, when a nest of hay should be prepared for her, and a nest egg put into it, to induce her to lay there.”
The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally
“The eggs should be removed as soon as laid, as the hen is apt to spoil or break them, by sitting in the nest to lay others.”
The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally
“Orlean's experiences with poultry-keeping are uncannily similar to mine; her crowing "hen" is Laura, ours was Loretta.”
“We swung on over the low, rolling hills, through miles of dairy farms and chicken ranches where every blessed hen is white, and down the slopes to Petaluma Valley.”
“You know, a Republican president once said, “The hen is the wisest of all the animal creation because she never cackles until after the egg has been laid.””
Think Progress » Brown wins Massachusetts special election; Coakley concedes.
“Once you find your first one, you'll see why they are called hen of the woods--they grow in feathered layers all attached at the base to the stem and they kind of look like hens sitting on a nest.”
The Huffington Post: Maria Rodale: Gathering Mushrooms in the Wild: Eating in the Wind
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘hen’.
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Sweet tooth fairy dominoes
As originally suggested on sweet tooth fairy domino:
Each person adds one word trying to create a single, potentially infinite sweet tooth fairy (please look it up if you are not familiar wit...banana, boat, house, arrest, warrant, peace, sign, post, box, clever, Hans, device and 119 more...
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EN - 3-letter words of the pattern CVC
With the exception of abbreviations and mosaic words all types of words (proper names, past tense of verbs, etc.) are allowed.
for, was, not, his, but, has, had, can, her, him, new, now and 339 more...
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birds
birds with singular names from
at least 9 English dictionariesaasvogel, aberdevine, accentor, accipiter, aepyornis, agami, albatross, alcatras, alcid, alcidine, amadavat, amokura and 1056 more...
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animals (1 syllable)
A list of common animal names. Keep the list to 1 syllable words.No scientific names. No proper names like 'Fluffy' the elephant.Insects and other creatures (even ficticious) are welcome!You can ...
dog, cat, bear, bee, ass, ape, horse, squid, bug, hare, hawk, pig and 138 more...
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food collection
bread, peel, pot, chorizo, Filet, olive, fill, Phyllo, dough, bake, mat, pinot and 988 more...
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You animal!
Names of animals that are also used to describe kinds of people. Nouns only, preferably single word.
For a related list, see sionnach's beastly verbs.rabbit, shark, hog, pussycat, bear, bull, skunk, hawk, wildcat, buck, slug, heifer and 112 more...
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Down on the Farm
All things farm and agriculture related.
barn, tractor, cow, hay, horse, pig, corn, plough, irrigation, subsidies, crops, plant and 260 more...
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3-letter Scrabble Words
aah, aal, aas, aba, abo, abs, aby, ace, act, add, ado, ads and 995 more...
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Nature and Environment
north, east, west, mountain, sea, beach, river, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, island and 205 more...
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3 Letter Words
A list of English words that are three letters long.
ace, act, ade, ado, add, ads, age, ago, ail, air, aim, all and 397 more...
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femanimales
Animal words and phrases that are used when talking about women. Some of these are found offensive, but this can be discussed on the words' pages. This list is just a list.
pussy, kitten, cougar, beaver, bitch, chick, jenny, cow, filly, vixen, fox, la passera and 10 more...
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The Nose Knows
Being Nosy.
nosethril, nostril, nebby, nasal, rhinoplasty, pug, button, Roman, turned-up, Pinocchio, Cyrano de Bergerac, Gonzo and 54 more...
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animals
horse, bear, fish, bull, pig, donkey, elephant, cow, tortoise, cat, sheep, dog and 14 more...
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strangelyrouge's Words
glockenspiel, gewgaw, jetsam, flotsam, gripe, grab, wench, whilst, betwixt, hither, thither, yonder and 1034 more...
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billfence's Words
quotidian, flux, sawbuck, horsefeathers, chalcedony, harp, no, fox, tennis, badminton, flue, charm and 186 more...
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Most of the Nouns from Joanna Newsom'...
meadowlark, sparrow, spree, pharoah, pharisees, comb, meadow, pines, marrow, bones, birches, spires and 95 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for hen.
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