Hen

Pronunciation

• IPA: /hÉ›n/
• Rhymes: -É›n

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.

Full definition of hen

Adverb

1. (dialectal) Hence.

From hen ("hence, away"), or a variant of hench.

Verb

1. (dialectal) To throw.Image:Mother hen with chicks02.jpg|thumb|A mother hen with

From Middle English, from Old English henn, hænn ("hen, female chicken"), from Proto-Germanic *hanjō ("hen"), from Proto-Indo-European *kana- ("to sing"). Cognate with Dutch hen ("hen"), German Henne ("hen"), Icelandic hæna ("hen"). Related also to Old English hana ("cock, rooster").

Alternative forms

• henne obsolete

Noun

1. A female bird.
2. (specifically) A female chicken, especially one kept for its eggs.
• 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp Chapter 2, 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, â€¦—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
3. (slang) A woman.
4. (informal) The woman whose impending marriage is being celebrated at a hen night.

Derived terms

• henbane
• hen harrier
• hen party
• henpecked
• mother hen

Anagrams

• Neh.
• NHE