henhussy

English

Alternative forms

• hen hussy, hen-hussy

Etymology

hen +‎ hussy

Noun

henhussy (plural henhussies)

1. (obsolete) A girl or woman who tends chickens.
   • 1913, Alice Louise Lee, “The "Hen Hussy"”, in A Senior Co-ed, page 122:

     "John," called Mr. Carter, "who'd ye think's going t' take care of the hens?"¶ Newsy's feet stopping more suddenly than his head, he was obliged to turn a rapid handspring in order to reestablish his equilibrium. He came up yelling, "What! Her?"¶ "Yes, her," boomed Mr. Carter. "She’s t’ be the hen hussy on these premises.”

2. (obsolete, derogatory) A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman.
   • 1840 June, Miss Sedgewick, “The Canary Family”, in The Ladies' Pearl, volume 1, number 1, page 66:

     When I saw the family last, his second wife had built her nest, though not half so well as her predecessor. She was sitting on her eggs, and was most affectionately tended by her husband. Sophia complains that he has become somewhat of a hen-hussy, and had rather be cowering over the nest than abroad on the wing, with his gay flock.

   • 1846 November, “One Fault in a Wife”, in The Mothers' Journal and Family Visitant, volume 11, number 11, page 342:

     Albert had arrived some time before, and though he had not dared to offer Mary any assistance, lest his grandmother should pronounce him a "henhussy," his eye had followed her from one place to another, as she fancied, with a more impatient expression than she had ever seen in them, when direct toward her.

3. (archaic) A housewife.
   • 1967, Harry Allen Smith, Son of Rhubarb, Trident Press, page 71:

     She came forward, a henhussy in her middle forties, shaped somewhat like a thick Letter S as a consequence of upper frontal stick-out and lower rear protrusion.

Synonyms

• (man who performs a woman's tasks): betty, cot-betty, cot-quean

Hyponyms

• (man who performs a woman's tasks): househusband