hen

[ hen ]

/ hɛn /

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noun

a female chicken: Our hens only recently started laying, but these fresh eggs were worth the wait!

the female of any bird, especially a gallinaceous bird: The mallard drakes are splendidly colorful while the hens are camouflaged in drab plumage.

the female of certain marine creatures, including lobsters and salmon: I prefer a hen when making lobster bisque, as the dark red roe enhances both flavor and color.

Informal: Sometimes Offensive. a usually middle-aged or older woman, especially one who is considered to be petty or gossipy: Let’s get out of here and leave the hens to their blather.

Informal. a female in attendance at a hen party: The incident at the restaurant occurred hours after our party was over and we’d all gone home, but all of us hens were brought in for questioning the next morning.

British and Australian Informal. the bride-to-be at a bachelorette party: A toast to Vera, the beautiful hen, who’s flying our coop in less than a fortnight!

Scots Informal. an affectionate or familiar term of address to a girl or woman: That’s lovely, hen, thank you.

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Origin of hen

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English hen(n) (compare Old English hana “cock”); cognate with German Henne; akin to Latin canere “to sing”; see also chant, charm¹

OTHER WORDS FROM hen

hen·like, adjectivehen·nish, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use hen in a sentence

Egg-laying hens are placed in cages to unnaturally churn out egg after egg.
The History of the Chicken: How This Humble Bird Saved Humanity|William O’Connor|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Prince Charles has closed down his small free-range egg business after 24 of his beloved hens were killed by a fox.
Prince Charles's Chickens Killed By Foxes!|Tom Sykes|May 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And in item 6c I get to list my dependents—three children, four dogs, six laying hens, two goldfish, and a hamster.
Up to a Point: I Do My Own Taxes With No Help, Except From a Couple of Bloody Marys|P. J. O’Rourke|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What he loved to do was count the number of eggs his hens laid.
Orwell’s Lies: His Diaries Reveal Problems with the Truth|Jimmy So|August 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST

As Foer writes in Eating Animals, “I could keep a flock of hens under my sink and call them free-range.”
9 Reasons to Beware Eggs|The Daily Beast|August 20, 2010|DAILY BEAST
"I should judge your hens ain't layin' well, figurin' on the size of the basket," said the old man, ignoring her denial.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
Now he was wagging his head solemnly, pulling his beard, and over and over repeating, "But hens is contrary—hens is contrary."
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd
There was a little black one in our yard this spring, which none of the mother-hens would own.
The Nursery, July 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 1|Various
Why, he sent his man down here, t'other day, to warn me to keep my hens shut up and off his property.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
The roosters crowed and the hens clucked; the farmer's wife began to get breakfast, and the four children slept on.
The Box-Car Children|Gertrude Chandler Warner

British Dictionary definitions for hen

hen

/ (hɛn) /

noun

the female of any bird, esp the adult female of the domestic fowl

the female of certain other animals, such as the lobster

informal a woman regarded as gossipy or foolish

Scot dialect a term of address (often affectionate), used to women and girls

scarce as hen's teeth extremely rare

Word Origin for hen

Old English henn; related to Old High German henna, Old Frisian henne

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with hen

hen

see mad as a hornet (wet hen); scarce as hen's teeth.