hen

noun

1. 1

   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 as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.

2. 2

   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.

3. 3

   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.

4. 4

   figurativeA woman.

   Hen, a woman. A cock and hen club; a club composed of men and women.

5. 5

   figurativeA woman. A bride-to-be, particularly in the context of a hen night.

6. 6

   informalA hen night.

7. 7

   informalAn affectionate term of address used to women or girls.

   Don't cry, hen. Everything will be all right.

8. 8

   The penis of a trans woman.

   Coordinate term: cock

9. 9

   figurativeA henlike person of either sex.

10. 10

    The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish.

11. 11

    obsoleteA large pewter pot used in a tavern.

verb

1. 1

   Synonym of mother-hen.

   Once he had flared up, "If ever a man was henned, it's me!"

   Mammy henned the black workers into placing the trunks beside the girls.

adverb

1. 1

   Hence.

verb

1. 1

   To throw.

Forms

plural

hens

past tense

henned

past participle

henned

present participle

henning

third person singular

hens