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For the Department of Energy to conduct this investigation is like the fox watching the hen house.
Shelley Berkley

Meaning of "hen" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD HEN

Old English henn; related to Old High German henna, Old Frisian henne.
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Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF HEN

hen  [hɛn] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HEN

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Hen is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES HEN MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Hen

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...

Definition of hen in the English dictionary

The first definition of hen in the dictionary is the female of any bird, esp the adult female of the domestic fowl. Other definition of hen is the female of certain other animals, such as the lobster. Hen is also a woman regarded as gossipy or foolish.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE HEN

hemstitcher
hen harrier
hen night
hen party
hen run
hen-and-chickens
Henan
henbane
henbit
hence
henceforth
henceforward
henceforwards
henchman
henchmen
henchperson
henchwoman
hencoop
hend
hendecagon

WORDS THAT END LIKE HEN

Allen
been
ben
between
bien
broken
chicken
children
chosen
den
driven
drucken
en
even
forgotten
frozen
fully-fitted kitchen
garden
gen
given

Synonyms and antonyms of hen in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «hen» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF HEN

Find out the translation of hen to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of hen from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «hen» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

母鸡
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

gallina
570 millions of speakers

English

hen
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

मुर्गी
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

دَجَاجَة
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

курица
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

galinha
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

মুরগি
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

poule
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

ayam
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Henne
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

めんどり
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

암탉
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Hen
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

gà mái
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கோழி
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

कोंबडी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

tavuk
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

gallina
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

kura
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

курка
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

găină
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

κότα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

hen
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

höna
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

høne
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of hen

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «HEN»

The term «hen» is very widely used and occupies the 10.444 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
96
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «hen» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of hen
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «hen».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «HEN» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «hen» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «hen» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about hen

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «HEN»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word hen.
1
Aeschylus
Be bold and boast, just like the cock beside the hen.
2
Fisher Ames
The gentleman puts me in mind of an old hen which persists in setting after her eggs are taken away.
3
Shelley Berkley
For the Department of Energy to conduct this investigation is like the fox watching the hen house.
4
Sarah Brown
The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.
5
Warren E. Burger
It is not unprofessional to give free legal advice, but advertising that the first visit will be free is a bit like a fox telling chickens he will not bite them until they cross the threshold of the hen house.
6
Samuel Butler
A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.
7
Michael Foot
A Royal Commission is a broody hen sitting on a china egg.
8
George M. Humphrey
You can't set a hen in one morning and have chicken salad for lunch.
9
Nikita Khrushchev
If you cannot catch a bird of paradise, better take a wet hen.
10
Nikita Khrushchev
If one cannot catch a bird of paradise, better take a wet hen.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HEN»

Discover the use of hen in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to hen and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
The Little Red Hen
Galdone's dynamic, amusing pictures add much humor to the familiar tale of the industrious hen and lazy cat, dog, and mouse.
Paul Galdone, 1985
2
One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference
Based on a true story, tells of how a poor Ghanaian boy buys a chicken through a community loan program, which eventually helps lift him, his mother, and his community out of poverty.
Katie Smith Milway, 2008
3
Sly Fox and Little Red Hen
Light-hearted stories and fables about talking animals are a very old European tradition. This simple retelling omits the hen's amazing skill with a needle and thread, but retains the original humour of the tale.
‎1998
4
Hen Eggs: Basic and Applied Science
Using hen eggs as a model, this new text explores the use of eggs for food, industrial, and pharmaceutical applications.
Takehiko Yamamoto, Lekh Raj Juneja, Hajime Hatta, 1996
5
Big Fat Hen
Big Fat Hen counts to ten with her friends and all their chicks. On board pages.
‎1999
6
Hen Frigates: Passion and Peril, Nineteenth-Century Women at Sea
Interweaving first-person accounts from letters and journals in and around the lyrical narrative of a sea journey, maritime historian Joan Druett brings life to these stories.
Joan Druett, 2012
7
The Little Red Hen
A newly illustrated edition of the classic fable of the hen who is forced to do all the work of baking bread and of the animals who learn a bitter lesson from it.
‎2006
8
Mad as a Wet Hen!: And Other Funny Idioms
Illustrates and explains over 100 common English idioms, in categories including animals, body parts, and colors.
Marvin Terban, 1987
9
Handa's Hen
As Handa and her friend Akeyo, young members of Kenya's Luo tribe, search for her grandmother's missing hen, Mondi, they encounter increasing numbers of interesting animals but the black hen eludes them. 8,000 first printing.
Eileen Browne, 2011
10
The best bedtime stories of Mother Hen: a story
Mother Hen quiets her noisy chicks at bedtime with two stories.
Anne-Marie Dalmais, 1987

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «HEN»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term hen is used in the context of the following news items.
1
'Save our hen harriers' protest meeting in Forest of Bowland …
A second protest meeting in support of the county's hen harrier population will be staged in the Forest of Bowland in less than a month. «Burnley Express, Jul 15»
2
Former Blue Hen Lauren Carra named Cape hoops coach
Former Blue Hen Lauren Carra named Cape hoops coach. Lauren Carra was named Cape Henlopen girls basketball coach after a solid UD ... «Delmarva Daily Times, Jul 15»
3
City ordinance bans roosters; Vote allowing hen chickens scratches …
By a close 3-2 vote, the Barron City Council voted Tuesday, July 14, 2015, to allow chickens to be raised within the city limits. Council members ... «News-shield, Jul 15»
4
Michelle Keegan shows off her gorgeous bikini body on pal's hen
With a body to die for Mark Wright's wife hid behind a mask of close pal Liz Marsland as they celebrated in Marbella for her hen party. «Mirror.co.uk, Jul 15»
5
The SNP Fox In The Westminster Hen House - Sky News
The SNP Fox In The Westminster Hen House. The PM is forced to dance to the SNP's tune, but the hunting reverse will strengthen resolve on ... «Sky News, Jul 15»
6
3 nabbed for hen 'sacrifice', assaulting activist in Juhu
MUMBAI: Three persons were arrested on Saturday for 'sacrificing' hens at Juhu Chowpatty and assaulting an activist who tried to intervene. «Times of India, Jul 15»
7
NSmen say new IPPT format more convenient to train for: Dr Ng Eng …
... believe the new Individual Physical Proficiency Test (IPPT) is more convenient to train for, said Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen in a written ... «AsiaOne, Jul 15»
8
Protesters fight Lancashire's hen harrier loss
This year five additional male hen harriers have vanished from occupied nests on red grouse moorland in northern England, four birds from the ... «Lancashire Evening Post, Jul 15»
9
Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture - an Eggless Hen?
You are impoverished and you go to your father to ask for a hen that can lay you golden eggs. In your mind, you see this hen as the gateway to ... «AllAfrica.com, Jul 15»
10
Wooden gin distillery created from run down hen house wins Shed …
Walter Micklethwait, 36, used recycled parts from an old dismantled railway station to build the winning shack in his farmyard over two years ... «Daily Mail, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Hen [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/hen>. Apr 2024 ».
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