Online Encyclopedia
Make a correction
Your email address will not appear on the site. Note, comments may take some time to be approved.
Back to article:
HEN
Your email:
Article name:
Article content:
HEN, a female bird, especially the female of the common fowl (q.v.). The O. Eng. ha;i is the feminine form of hana, the male bird, a correlation of words which is represented in other Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Hahn, Henne, Dutch haan, lien, Swed. hane, bonne, &c. The O. Eng. name for the male bird has disappeared, its place being taken by " cock," a word probably of onomatopoeic origin. being from a base kuk- or kik-, seen also in "chicken." This word also appears in Fr. coy, and medieval Lat. coccus.