hen
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hen¹
- /hɛn/ US, UK
- /hɪn/ US, pin pen merger
- /hen/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɛn
Where it comes from
From Middle English hen, from Old English henn (“hen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan-, *kana- (“to sing”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hanne (“hen”), West Frisian hin (“hen”), Dutch hen (“hen”), German Low German Heen (“hen”), German Henne (“hen”), Danish høne (“hen”), Swedish höna (“hen”), Icelandic hæna (“hen”). Related to Old English hana (“cock, rooster”). Also cognate to Latin cicōnia (“stork”), Latin canō (“to sing”), Russian каню́к (kanjúk, “buzzard”). Compare Russian пету́х (petúx, “rooster, cock”) from Russian петь (petʹ, “to sing”).
Etymology 1, noun sense 7 after cock (“male chicken; man's penis”).
noun hens · henne
- A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs. She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid,[…]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types
- A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl. In Tain, north of Inverness, staff detected 11 males and at least seven hens – the highest number there since 2011.
- A female fish (especially a salmon or trout) or crustacean. As spawning time approaches – autumn or very early winter in most rivers, though in some late-run streams salmon may spawn as late as January or February – the hen's colouration becomes first a matt-pewter and then a drab dark brown-grey. The cock fish, in contrast, begins to gain some brighter colo
- A woman. Hen, a woman. A cock and hen club; a club composed of men and women.
- A bride-to-be, particularly in the context of a hen night.
- A hen night.
- An affectionate term of address used to women or girls. Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.
-
The penis of a trans woman.
Coordinate term: cock
Similar: clit, clitoris, femcock, femdick, girlcock, girldick, girlglock, gock, hen, ladybits, ladyparts, ladystick
- A henlike person of either sex.
- The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish.
- A large pewter pot used in a tavern.
Similar: hen-bird, bachelorette
verb hens · henning · henned · henne
-
Synonym of mother-hen.
Once he had flared up, "If ever a man was henned, it's me!"
Similar: mother-hen
hen²
- /hɛn/ US, UK
- /hɪn/ US, pin pen merger
- /hen/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɛn
Where it comes from
From Middle English henne, heonne, hinne, from earlier henene, heonenen, henen, from Old English heonan, hionan, heonane, heonone (“hence, from here, away, from how”), from Proto-Germanic *hina, *hinanō (“from here”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”). Cognate with Dutch heen (“away”), German hin (“hence, from here”), Danish hen (“away, further, on”). See also hence.
adverb
- Hence.
hen³
- /hɛn/ US, UK
- /hɪn/ US, pin pen merger
- /hen/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɛn
Where it comes from
From hen (“hence, away”), or a variant of hench.
verb hens · henning · henned
- To throw.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: biddy, poultry, fowl, chick, nest, partlet, broody, chicken, clucker, goose, owl, brooder, hatcher, alligator, ape, bunny
noun
Similar: hen-bird, bachelorette
Translations
Every language
noun female bird
| Español | ave hembra |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | めんどり mendori, 雌鶏 mendori |
| 中文 | 母雞 /母鸡 mǔjī |
| Kiswahili | tembe |
| Português | ave-fêmea, pássara |
| Deutsch | Weibchen |
| Italiano | gallina |
| Ελληνικά | πουλάδα pouláda |
| Русский | ку́рочка kúročka, са́мка sámka |
noun hen-like woman
| Português | galinha |
|---|---|
| Français | poule |
| Italiano | gallina |
| Ελληνικά | κότα kóta |
| Русский | тёлка tjólka, ба́ба bába |
noun female chicken
| Español | gallina |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 암탉 amtak |
| 日本語 | 雌鶏 mendori |
| 中文 | 母雞 /母鸡 mǔjī |
| हिन्दी | मुर्गी murgī |
| Kiswahili | tembe, kuku |
| Português | galinha |
| Français | poule |
| Deutsch | Henne, Legehenne, Huhn |
| Italiano | gallina |
| Ελληνικά | κότα kóta |
| Română | găină |
| Русский | ку́рица kúrica, ку́рочка kúročka |
| Tiếng Việt | gà mái |
| العربية | دَجَاجَة dajāja, دُجَاجَة dujāja, دِجَاجَة dijāja |
| עברית | תרנגולת, תַּרְנְגֹלֶת tarnególet |
Talk about this word "hen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hen. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hen "hen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hen.Cite this
@misc{hen_2026,
title = {hen},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hen},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
