Hen
/hɛn/noun
An adult female chicken or other female bird of some species.
Did you know?English hen comes from Old English hēn, and the word’s deep ancestry is so old that it’s tied to a Proto-Indo-European root for “bird,” making this humble word a fossil from humanity’s earliest speech.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kan-
“A root associated with birds, especially the call or cry of birds.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*hanô / *hanjan
“A male bird, especially a cock; the broader bird-name family developed in Germanic.”
Old English
English
hēn
“A hen; a female bird, especially a domestic fowl.”
Middle English
English
hen
“A hen; a female chicken or bird.”
Modern English
English
hen
“An adult female chicken or other female bird of some species.”