water hen

or wa·ter·hen


noun
  1. the American coot, Fulica americana.

Origin of water hen

1
First recorded in 1520–30

Words Nearby water hen

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use water hen in a sentence

  • The little black water-hen came out of the river and they fed it.

  • They also saw two species of ibis wading about in the marsh, and a gigantic water-hen almost as big as a turkey.

  • The white-breasted water-hen (Gallinula phoenicura) is a bird that must be familiar to all.

  • The water-hen is a black bird about the size of the average bazaar fowl, with a white face, throat and breast.

  • You may test this whenever you have the good fortune to capture a young water-hen.

    Birds in Flight | W. P. Pycraft

British Dictionary definitions for water hen

water hen

noun
  1. another name for gallinule

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