hen

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See also hēn, hén, hěn, and hèn

Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

From Middle English henne, heonne, hinne, from earlier henene, heonenen, henen, from Old English heonan, hionan, heonane, heonone (“hence, from here, away, from how”), from Proto-Germanic *hina, *hinanō (“from here”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-, *ḱey- (“this, here”). Cognate with Dutch heen (“away”), German hin (“hence, from here”), Danish hen (“away, further, on”). See also hence.

[edit] Adverb

hen (comparative more hen, superlative most hen)

  1. (dialectal) Hence.

[edit] Etymology 2

From hen (“hence, away”), or a variant of hench.

[edit] Verb

hen (third-person singular simple present hens, present participle henning, simple past and past participle henned)

  1. (dialectal) To throw.
A mother hen with chicks.

[edit] Etymology 3

From Middle English, from Old English henn, hænn (“hen, female chicken”), from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kana- (“to sing”). Cognate with Dutch hen (“hen”), German Henne (“hen”), Icelandic hæna (“hen”). Related also to Old English hana (“cock, rooster”).

[edit] Alternative forms

[edit] Noun

hen (plural hens)

  1. A female bird.
  2. (specifically) A female chicken, especially one kept for its eggs.
  3. (slang) A woman.
  4. (informal) The woman whose impending marriage is being celebrated at a hen night.
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Translations
female bird
female chicken
slang: woman
[edit] See also

[edit] Anagrams

[edit] Breton

[edit] Etymology

Cognate to Welsh hen and Irish sean. From Proto-Celtic *seno-, from Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”).

[edit] Adjective

hen

  1. old

[edit] Danish

[edit] Adverb

hen

  1. here

[edit] Dutch

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Etymology 1

From Old Dutch hin, from Proto-Germanic *himaz.

[edit] Pronoun

hen (personal)

  1. them
[edit] Declension
Dutch personal pronouns
subject object possessive reflexive
singular full unstr. full unstr. full unstr. pred.
1st person ik 'k1 mij me mijn m'n1 mijne me
2nd person jij je jou je jouw je jouwe je
2nd person dialectal gij ge u – uw – uwe u
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich
3rd person masculine hij ie1 hem 'm1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich
3rd person feminine zij ze haar 'r1, d'r1 haar 'r1, d'r1 hare zich
3rd person neuter het 't1 het 't1 zijn z'n1 zijne zich
plural
1st person wij we ons – ons, onze2 – onze ons
2nd person jullie je jullie je jullie je – je
2nd person dialectal gij ge u – uw – uwe u
2nd person formal u – u – uw – uwe zich
3rd person zij ze hen3, hun4 ze hun – hunne zich
1) Not as common in written language.
2) Inflected as an adjective.		 3) In prescriptivist use, used only as direct object (accusative).
4) In prescriptivist use, used only as indirect object (dative).


[edit] Related terms

[edit] Etymology 2

EB1911 - Volume 01 - Page 001 - 1.svg This entry lacks etymological information. If you are familiar with the origin of this word, please add it to the page as described here.

[edit] Noun

hen f. (plural hennen, diminutive hennetje)

  1. hen, female chicken; female of a related species.
  2. A female of the species of birds brooding on the ground.
  3. (figuratively) 'bird', colloquial term for a human female
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Related terms

[edit] Japanese

[edit] Noun

hen (hiragana へん)

  1. 編: compilation, knit, plait, braid, twist, editing, completed poem, part of a book
  2. 辺: side, edge
  3. 偏: a type of Chinese radical, right half; antonym: 旁 (つくり)

[edit] Mandarin

[edit] Romanization

hen

  1. Nonstandard spelling of hēn.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of hén.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of hěn.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of hèn.

[edit] Usage notes

English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

[edit] Scots

[edit] Noun

hen (uncountable)

  1. Term of address for a woman.
    Alright Mary hen?

[edit] Welsh

[edit] Etymology

Cognate to Breton hen and Irish sean. From Proto-Celtic *seno-, from Proto-Indo-European *sénos (“old”).

[edit] Adjective

hen m & f (plural hen, equative hened, comparative henach, superlative henaf)

  1. old, ancient

[edit] Usage notes

  • This adjective has an alternate, more 'senior' comparative in the form of hŷn and an equivalent alternate superlative in the form of hynaf.
  • Unlike most Welsh adjectives, this word goes before the noun.
  • Like most Welsh adjectives that go before the noun, this word triggers a soft mutation in the word that follows it.
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