moorhen
/ˈmʊɹˌhɛn/noun
moorhen is spelled M-O-O-R-H-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 26 million words in written English, the 154,067th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, moorhen means “Any of various medium-sized water birds of the genus Gallinula, of the rail family, that feed in open water margins” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of moorhen is moorhens.
How many letters and syllables are in moorhen?
| Letters | 7: M-O-O-R-H-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 26 million words; the 154,067th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is moorhen?
Moorhen appears about once in every 26 million words in written English, the 154,067th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce moorhen?
- UK /ˈmʊəɹˌhɛn/
- US /ˈmʊɹˌhɛn/
Moorhen has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-moorhen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with moorhen?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as moorhen (/ʊɹhɛn/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hormone.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of moorhen
- moorhens plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moorhen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various medium-sized water birds of the genus Gallinula, of the rail family, that feed in open water margins.
- 2
UKA female red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scotica.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moorhen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense water birds of the genus Gallinula:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poule d'eau |
| German | Teichralle |
| Portuguese | frango-d'água, galinha-d'água |
| Spanish | gallineta de agua |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does moorhen come from?
From Middle English morhen, perhaps from Old English *mōrhenn, an alteration of Old English worhenn (compare coordinate masculine term mōrhana, a possible corruption of worhana (“pheasant”)), equivalent to moor + hen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).