What is "hen"

Hen \Hen\, n. [AS. henn, hen, h[ae]n; akin to D. hen, OHG. henna, G. henne, Icel. h?na, Dan. h["o]na; the fem. corresponding to AS. hana cock, D. haan, OHG. hano, G. hahn, Icel. hani, Dan. & Sw. hane. Prob. akin to L. canere to sing, and orig. meaning, a singer. Cf. Chanticleer.] (Zo["o]l.) The female of the domestic fowl; also, the female of grouse, pheasants, or any kind of birds; as, the heath hen; the gray hen. Note: Used adjectively or in combination to indicate the female; as, hen canary, hen eagle, hen turkey, peahen. Hen clam. (Zo["o]l.)

1. A clam of the Mactra, and allied genera; the sea clam or surf clam. See Surf clam.

2. A California clam of the genus Pachydesma.

   Hen driver. See Hen harrier (below).

   Hen harrier (Zo["o]l.), a hawk ( Circus cyaneus), found in Europe and America; -- called also dove hawk, henharm, henharrow, hen driver, and usually, in America, marsh hawk. See Marsh hawk.

   Hen hawk (Zo["o]l.), one of several species of large hawks which capture hens; esp., the American red-tailed hawk ( Buteo borealis), the red-shouldered hawk ( Buteo lineatus), and the goshawk.

Old English henn, from West Germanic *hannjo (cognates: Old Frisian henn, Middle Dutch henne, Old High German henna), fem. of *han(e)ni "male fowl, cock" (source of Old English hana "cock"), literally "bird who sings (for sunrise)," from PIE root *kan- "to sing" (see chant).\n

\nThe original masculine word survives in German (Hahn "cock"), Swedish, Danish, etc. German also has a generic form, Huhn, for either gender of the bird. Extension to "female of any bird species" is early 14c. in English. Hen as slang for "woman" dates from 1620s; hence hen party "gathering of women," first recorded 1887. To be mad as a wet hen is from 1823, but the figure was used to indicate other states:\n\nSome, on the contrary, are viciously opposite to these, who act so tamely and so coldly, that when they ought to be angry, to thunder and lighten, as one may say, they are no fuller of Heat, than a wet Hen, as the Saying is; .... ["Life of Mr. Thomas Betterton," London, 1710]\n

\n\n
\nOrth. Out upon you for a dastardly Fellow; you han't the Courage of a wet Hen.

["A Sermon Preached at St. Mary-le-Bow, March 27, 1704"]

Etymology 1 adv. (context dialectal English) hence. Etymology 2

vb. (context dialectal English) To throw. Etymology 3

alt. A female chicken (''Gallus gallus''), ''particularly'' a sexually mature one kept for its eggs. n. A female chicken (''Gallus gallus''), ''particularly'' a sexually mature one kept for its eggs.

1. n. adult female chicken [syn: biddy]

2. adult female bird

3. flesh of an older chicken suitable for stewing

4. female of certain aquatic animals e.g. octopus or lobster

Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a chicken, other poultry, game bird, or lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman.

Hen or Hens may also refer to:

is a seinen manga which was the first work created by manga artist Hiroya Oku, who is best known for Gantz. There are two separate series of Hen, but they share the same setting, and characters from the first series appear in the second.

Hen is a gender-neutral personal pronoun in Swedish intended as an alternative to the gender-specific hon ("she") and han ("he"). It can be used when the gender of a person is not known or when it is not desirable to specify them as either a "she" or "he". The word was first proposed in 1966, and again in 1994, with reference to the Finnish hän, a personal pronoun that is gender-neutral, since Finnish does not have grammatical genders. However, it did not receive widespread recognition until around 2010, when it began to be used in some books, magazines and newspapers, and provoked media debates and controversy over feminism, gender neutrality, and parenting. In July 2014 it was announced that hen would be included in Svenska Akademiens ordlista, the official glossary of the Swedish Academy.

It is currently treated as neologism by Swedish manuals of style. Major newspapers like Dagens Nyheter have recommended against its usage, though some journalists still use it. The Swedish Language Council has not issued any specific proscriptions against the use of hen, but recommends the inflected forms hens ("her(s)/his") as the possessive form and the object form hen ("her/him") over henom, which also occurs. Hen has two basic usages: as a way to avoid a stated preference to either gender; or as a way of referring to individuals who are transgender, agender, genderqueer, or those who reject the notion of binary gender on ideological grounds.

Hen is both a surname and a masculine given name. Notable people with the name Hen or Hens include:

Surname:

• Gwilym ab Ieuan Hen (fl. c. 1440-1480), Welsh poet
• Jorge Peña Hen (1928-1973), Chilean composer and academic
• Józef Hen (born 1923), Polish novelist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter and reporter
• Llywarch Hen, sixth century prince of the kingdom of Rheged
• Tal Hen (born 1979), Israeli footballer
• Tudur Hen (died 1311), Welsh aristocrat
• Yehezkel Hen (1882-1952), Israeli politician
• Zerahiah ben Shealtiel Ḥen (fl. late 13th century), Spanish Jewish physician, philosopher, translator and Hebraist
• Pascal Hens (born 1980), German team handball player
• Thorsten Hens (born 1961), German economist

Given name:

• Hen Azriel (born 1988), Israeli footballer
• Hen Ezra (born 1989), Israeli footballer
• Hen Pearce (1777-1809), English bare knuckle prizefighter
• Hen Reuven (born 1992), Israeli footballer
• Hen Sophal (born 1958), Cambodian artist