hen

[ hen ]

noun

1. a female chicken:

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

2. the female of any bird, especially a gallinaceous bird:

   The mallard drakes are splendidly colorful while the hens are camouflaged in drab plumage.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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!

7. Scots Informal. an affectionate or familiar term of address to a girl or woman:

   That’s lovely, hen, thank you.

hen

/ hɛn /

noun

1. the female of any bird, esp the adult female of the domestic fowl
2. the female of certain other animals, such as the lobster
3. informal.
   a woman regarded as gossipy or foolish
4. dialect.
   a term of address (often affectionate), used to women and girls
5. scarce as hen's teeth
   extremely rare

Other Words From

• hen·like adjective
• hen·nish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hen¹

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”; chant ( def ), charm ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of hen¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

“Peter’s taller and faster, so he’s usually up front, whereas I usually stay with the slower walkers, kind of like a mother hen, to make sure I can see all my chicks ahead of me.”

From Los Angeles Times

And in Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, some locals last month complained of an uptick in stag and hen parties after the town was popularised by BBC crime series Happy Valley.

From BBC

More than 1,300 protected birds of prey – from hen harriers to golden eagles - have been killed across the UK over the past 15 years, according to the RSPB.

From BBC

“While millions of Americans were dying from COVID-19, Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do was the fox in the hen house personified, raiding millions in federal pandemic relief funds and orchestrating the money intended to feed elderly and ailing residents to instead fill the pockets of insiders, himself and his loved ones all while portraying a public persona of a hometown hero guiding his constituents through the uncertainty and fear of a global pandemic,” said Orange County Dist.

From Los Angeles Times

"Once on the ground, the plane was handed to the Airport Police. Investigations are ongoing," Ng Eng Hen wrote.

From BBC

Related Words

• chicken
• duck
• fowl
• geese
• pheasant
• pigeon