hen

Etymology 1

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 also to Old English hana (“cock, rooster”).

noun

1. A female chicken (Gallus gallus), particularly 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 as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher. 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp
   Coordinate term: cock
2. A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl.
   Coordinate term: cock
   In Tain, north of Inverness, staff detected 11 males and at least seven hens – the highest number there since 2011. 17 June 2023, Severin Carrell, “Dancing Capercaillie bird makes a tentative comeback in Scotland”, in The Guardian
3. (uncommon) 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 colours. 2005, Roderick Sutterby, Malcolm Greenhalgh, “Life in the Nursery”, in Atlantic Salmon: An Illustrated Natural History, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, page 21
4. (figurative, derogatory) A woman, particularly
   Hen, a woman. A cock and hen club; a club composed of men and women. 1785, Francis Grose, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue
   1. (UK, informal) A bride-to-be, particularly in the context of her "hen night" festivities.
5. (UK, informal) A hen night.
6. (Scotland, informal) An affectionate term of address used to women or girls.
   Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.
7. (figurative, derogatory, uncommon) A henlike person of either sex.
8. The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish.

verb

1. Alternative form of mother-hen
   Once he had flared up, "If ever a man was henned, it's me!" 1943, McCall's - Volume 71, page 69
   Mammy henned the black workers into placing the trunks beside the girls. 1984, Susan C. Feldhake, Love Beyond Surrender, page 52

Etymology 2

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.

adv

1. (dialectal) Hence.

Etymology 3

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

verb

1. (dialectal) To throw.