hen

H h

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
- [hen]
- /hɛn/
- /hen/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [hen]
- /hɛn/

Definitions of hen word

noun hen the female of the domestic fowl. 1
noun hen the female of any bird, especially of a gallinaceous bird. 1
noun hen Informal. an unpleasant, usually older woman, especially one considered to be a busybody or gossip. 1
noun hen chicken: female 1
noun hen other bird: female 1
countable noun hen A hen is a female chicken. People often keep hens in order to eat them or sell their eggs. 0

See all 22 definitions of hen

Information block about the term

Origin of hen

First appearance:

before 1000

One of the 6% oldest English words

before 1000; Middle English; Old English hen(n) (compare Old English hana cock); cognate with German Henne; akin to Latin canere to sing

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Hen

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Hen

hen popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

hen usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for hen

noun hen

poultry — domesticated fowl collectively, especially those valued for their meat and eggs, as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and guinea fowl.
biddy — If someone describes an old woman as an old biddy, they are saying in an unkind way that they think she is silly or unpleasant.
chick — A chick is a baby bird.
cock — A man's cock is his penis.
cockerel — A cockerel is a young male chicken.

All 24 Synonyms of hen

Matching words

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hen