# hen

> English word · Noun · IPA /hɛn/ · frequency rank #13,733

## Definitions
1. A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.
2. A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl.
3. A female fish (especially a salmon or trout) or crustacean.
4. A woman.
5. A woman.
6. A hen night.
7. An affectionate term of address used to women or girls.
8. The penis of a trans woman.
9. A henlike person of either sex.
10. The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish.
11. A large pewter pot used in a tavern.

## Etymology
From Middle English hen, from Old English henn (“hen”), from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō (“hen”), from Proto-Indo-European *kan-, *kana- (“to sing”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Hanne (“hen”), West Frisian hin (“hen”), Dutch hen (“hen”), German Low German Heen (“hen”), German Henne (“hen”), Danish høne (“hen”), Swedish höna (“hen”), Icelandic hæna (“hen”). Related to Old English hana (“cock, rooster”). Also cognate to Latin cicōnia (“stork”), Latin canō (“to sing”), Russian каню́к (kanjúk, “buzzard”). Compare Russian пету́х (petúx, “rooster, cock”) from Russian петь (petʹ, “to sing”).
Etymology 1 sense 7 after cock (“male chicken; man's penis”).

## Easily confused with
- **hi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hi)
- **ho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-ho)
- **HR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hr)
- **HP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hp)
- **hm** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hm)
- **HQ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hq)
- **Hu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hu)
- **HK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hk)
- **HG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hg)
- **HH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hh)
- **hv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hv)
- **hn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hn)
- **his** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-his)
- **her** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-her)
- **how** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-how)
- **him** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-him)
- **hit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hit)
- **hot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hot)
- **hey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hey)
- **hip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hen-vs-hip)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hen