chicken
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chicken¹
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkɪn/ US, UK
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkən/ Australia, US
Rhymes with -ɪkɪn, -ɪkən
Where it comes from
From Middle English chiken (also as chike > English chick), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *kiukīn (“chicken”), or alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *kukkīn, equivalent to cock + -en.
Compare North Frisian schückling (“chicken”), Saterland Frisian Sjuuken (“chicken”), Dutch kuiken (“chick, chicken”), German Low German Küken (“chick”), whence German Küken (“chick”), (elevated, obsolete) German Küchlein (“chick”) and Old Norse kjúklingr (“chicken”).
noun chickens
- A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus). backyard chickens
- The meat from this bird eaten as food. boneless chicken
- The young of any bird; a chick. There they are – four ugly little chickens, a bit more than half-feathered, and all gaping mouths and bare bellies.
-
A coward.
'Why, what a chicken you are! You are not afraid of being robbed; are you?' said Jonas.
Similar: pullet, bottler, caitiff, candy-ass, candy-arse, coistril, coward, chicken, chicken liver, chickenshit, cocktail, cowardy custard
-
A young or inexperienced person.
Purſue your trade of ſcandal-picking,
Your hints, that Stella is no chicken:
Your innuendos, when you tell us,
That Stella loves to talk with fellows; […]
Similar: spring chicken
-
A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair; compare chickenhawk.
Europe's Favorite Gay Newspaper has something for you! Handsome studs, Tender Chicken, and lots of Male Nudes!
Similar: twink
-
The game of dare.
Similar: game of chicken
-
A confrontational game in which the participants move toward each other at high speed (usually in automobiles); the player who turns first to avoid colliding into the other is the "chicken" (that is, the loser).
Don't play chicken with a freight train; you're guaranteed to lose.
Similar: game of chicken
- A simple dance in which the movements of a chicken are imitated.
- A kilogram of cocaine. Up early in the morning trappin' (Trap-trap) You can get 'em how you askin' (Ask) How many chickens? You can get 'em whichever way Nigga, trap turned Zaxby's (Zax)
- A small pewter pot used in a tavern.
adjective more chicken · most chicken
-
Cowardly.
Why do you refuse to fight? Huh, I guess you're just too chicken.
Similar: backboneless, base, soft, bitch-ass, boneless, caitiff, candy-assed, chicken, chicken-hearted, chicken-livered, chickenshit, courageless
chicken²
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkɪn/ US, UK
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkən/ Australia, US
Rhymes with -ɪkɪn, -ɪkən
Where it comes from
Shortening of chicken out.
verb chickens · chickening · chickened
- To avoid a situation one is afraid of. For the umpteenth time, I chickened.
chicken³
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkɪn/ US, UK
- /ˈt͡ʃɪkən/ Australia, US
Rhymes with -ɪkɪn, -ɪkən
Where it comes from
From chick + -en (plural ending).
noun
- plural of chick The 21 or 22 day the Chicken are hatch'd; […]
Chicken⁴
Where it comes from
Chosen instead of ptarmigan (a common local bird) because of a dispute over the correct spelling.
proper noun
- A census-designated place in Alaska.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: yellow-bellied, yellow, crybaby, wimp, chickenhearted, fearful, cowardly, coward, lily-livered, white-livered, gallus gallus, poulet, volaille, bird, ducky, chick
Translations
Every language
noun bird
| Español | pollo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 닭 dak |
| 日本語 | 鶏 niwatori, 臼辺鳥 usubedori |
| 中文 | 雞 /鷄 /鸡 jī |
| हिन्दी | मुर्ग़ा murġā, मुरगा murgā, मुर्ग़ murġ, कुक्कुट kukkuṭ |
| Kiswahili | kuku |
| Português | frango, galinha |
| Français | poulet |
| Deutsch | Huhn, Hähnchen, Hühnchen, Küchlein |
| Italiano | pollo, gallo, gallina |
| Ελληνικά | κοτόπουλο kotópoulo, κότα kóta |
| Română | pui, găină |
| Русский | цыплёнок cypljónok, ку́рица kúrica, пету́х petúx |
| Tiếng Việt | gà |
| العربية | دَجَاجَة dajāja |
| עברית | תַּרְנְגוֹל tarn'gól, תרנגולת \ תַּרְנְגֹלֶת tarnególet |
noun meat
| Español | pollo, gallina |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 닭고기 dakgogi |
| 日本語 | 鶏肉 keiniku, toriniku, 黄鶏 kashiwa, チキン chikin |
| 中文 | 雞肉 /鷄肉 /鸡肉 jīròu |
| Kiswahili | nyama ya kuku |
| Português | frango |
| Français | poulet |
| Deutsch | Huhn, Hühnchen, Hühnerfleisch, Hähnchen |
| Italiano | pollo |
| Ελληνικά | κοτόπουλο kotópoulo |
| Română | pui |
| Русский | куря́тина kurjátina |
| العربية | دَجَاج dajāj, لَحْم دَجَاج laḥm dajāj |
| עברית | עוף |
noun coward
| Español | gallina, cobarde |
|---|---|
| Português | covarde, cobarde, bundão, cagão |
| Français | poule mouillée, poltron |
| Deutsch | Feigling |
| Italiano | coniglio, mammoletta, pollo, merlo, femminuccia, smidollato |
| Ελληνικά | κότα kóta |
| Русский | трус trus, труси́ха trusíxa, трусишка trusiška, ссыку́н ssykún, бздун bzdun |
| עברית | שָׁפָן shafán |
Talk about this word "chicken." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/chicken. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026. chicken. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/chicken "chicken." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 5, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/chicken.Cite this
@misc{chicken_2026,
title = {chicken},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/chicken},
urldate = {2026-11-05}
}
