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chicken

[chik-uh n]
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noun
  1. a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl of southeastern Asia and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers.
  2. the young of this bird, especially when less than a year old.
  3. the flesh of the chicken, especially of the young bird, used as food.
  4. Slang.
    1. a cowardly or fearful person.
    2. a young or inexperienced person, especially a young girl.
    3. petty details or tasks.
    4. unnecessary discipline or regulations.
    5. a young male homosexual, especially one sought as a sexual partner by older men.
  5. a contest in which two cars approach each other at high speed down the center of a road, the object being to force one's opponent to veer away first.
  6. a policy or strategy of challenging an opponent to risk a clash or yield: diplomats playing chicken at the conference table.
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adjective
  1. (of food) containing, made from, or having the flavor of chicken: chicken salad; chicken soup.
  2. Slang.
    1. cowardly.
    2. petty or trivial: a chicken regulation.
    3. obsessed with petty details, regulations, etc.: He's quitting this chicken outfit to become his own boss.
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Verb Phrases
  1. chicken out, Slang.
    1. to refrain from doing something because of fear or cowardice: I chickened out when I saw how deep the water was.
    2. to renege or withdraw: You can't chicken out of this business deal now.
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Idioms
  1. count one's chickens before they are hatched, to rely on a benefit that is still uncertain: They were already spending in anticipation of their inheritance, counting their chickens before they were hatched.
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Origin of chicken

before 950; 1605–15 for def 4a; 1940–45 for def 6; Middle English chiken, Old English cīcen; akin to Middle Dutch kieken (Dutch kuiken), Low German küken
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for chicken

chicken

noun
  1. a domestic fowl bred for its flesh or eggs, esp a young one
  2. the flesh of such a bird used for food
  3. any of various similar birds, such as a prairie chicken
  4. slang a cowardly person
  5. slang a young inexperienced person
  6. slang an underage boy or girl regarded as a potential target for sexual abuse
  7. informal any of various, often dangerous, games or challenges in which the object is to make one's opponent lose his nerve
  8. count one's chickens before they are hatched to be overoptimistic in acting on expectations which are not yet fulfilled
  9. like a headless chicken British informal disorganized and uncontrolled
  10. no chicken or no spring chicken slang no longer youngshe's no chicken
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adjective
  1. slang easily scared; cowardly; timid
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Word Origin

Old English ciecen; related to Old Norse kjūklingr gosling, Middle Low German küken chicken
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chicken

n.

Old English cicen "young fowl," which in Middle English came to mean "young chicken," then any chicken, from West Germanic *kiukinam (cf. Middle Dutch kiekijen, Dutch kieken, Old Norse kjuklingr, Swedish kyckling, German Küken "chicken"), from root *keuk- (echoic of the bird's sound and possibly also the root of cock (n.1)) + diminutive suffixes.

Adjective sense of "cowardly" is at least as old as 14c. (cf. hen-herte "a chicken-hearted person," mid-15c.). As the name of a game of danger to test courage, it is first recorded 1953. Chicken feed "paltry sum of money" is by 1897, American English slang; literal use (it is made from the from lowest quality of grain) by 1834. Chicken lobster "young lobster," is from c.1960s, American English, apparently from chicken in its sense of "young."

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v.

"to back down or fail through cowardice," 1943, U.S. slang, from chicken (n.), almost always with out (adv.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with chicken

chicken

In addition to the idioms beginning with chicken

  • chicken feed
  • chicken out
  • chickens come home to roost
  • chicken shit
  • chicken with its head cut off

also see:

  • count one's chickens
  • go to bed with (the chickens)
  • like a chicken with its head cut off
  • no spring chicken
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.