hen

== English == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /hɛn/ Rhymes: -ɛn === Etymology 1 === 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”). ==== Alternative forms ==== henne (obsolete) ==== Noun ==== hen (plural hens) A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs. Hypernyms: chicken < poultry Hyponym: pullet Coordinate terms: cock, cockerel, rooster A female of other bird species, particularly a sexually mature female fowl. Coordinate term: cock (uncommon) A female fish (especially a salmon or trout) or crustacean. Synonym: henfish Coordinate terms: buck, cock, cockfish (figuratively) A woman. (UK, informal) A bride-to-be, particularly in the context of a hen night. (UK, informal) A hen night. (Scotland, informal) An affectionate term of address used to women or girls. (transgender slang) The penis of a trans woman. Synonyms: see Thesaurus:trans woman's penis Coordinate term: cock (figuratively, derogatory, uncommon) A henlike person of either sex. The hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), a bivalve shellfish. (obsolete) A large pewter pot used in a tavern. Coordinate term: chicken ===== Synonyms ===== (female bird): hen-bird (bride-to-be): bachelorette (US) (M. mercenaria): hard clam, hen-clam, hen-fish ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== hen (third-person singular simple present hens, present participle henning, simple past and past participle henned) (transitive, intransitive) Synonym of mother-hen. ===== See also ===== broody === Etymology 2 === 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. ==== Adverb ==== hen (not comparable) (dialectal) Hence. === Etymology 3 === From hen (“hence, away”), or a variant of hench. ==== Verb ==== hen (third-person singular simple present hens, present participle henning, simple past and past participle henned) (dialectal) To throw. === References === Fielding, Lucie (2021), Trans Sex: Clinical Approaches to Trans Sexualities and Erotic Embodiments, New York: Routledge, →ISBN, page 96 === Anagrams === NHE, Neh. == Breton == === Etymology === From Proto-Brythonic *hen, from Proto-Celtic *senos, from Proto-Indo-European *sénos. === Adjective === hen old, ancient == Cimbrian == === Alternative forms === haban, håm === Etymology === From Middle High German haben, from Old High German hāben, from Proto-West Germanic *habbjan, from Proto-Germanic *habjaną (“to have; to hold”). Cognate with German haben, English have. === Verb === hen (irregular, auxiliary hen) (Tredici Comuni) to have === References === Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien == Cornish == === Etymology === From Proto-Brythonic *hen, from Proto-Celtic *senos. === Adjective === hen (archaic) old long-standing == Danish == === Etymology === From Middle Low German hen, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *hiz (“here”). Related to Swedish hän, English hence, and German hin. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈhɛn], [ˈhɛnˀ] Rhymes: -ɛn === Adverb === hen Used with a verb, indicating a movement towards or to something. Gå hen til din far. Go to your father. Hestene går hen imod mig. The horses are walking towards me. ==== Usage notes ==== Contrast with henne; where hen indicates movement, henne indicates position. Thus hvor løber han henne? means "where is he running?", whereas hvor løber han hen? means "to where is he running?". == Dutch == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɦɛn/ Hyphenation: hen Rhymes: -ɛn === Etymology 1 === From Old Dutch hin, from Proto-Germanic *himaz. ==== Pronoun ==== hen (personal) them; third-person plural objective personal pronoun ===== Usage notes ===== See the usage notes at hun for details on use. ===== Declension ===== ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Related terms ===== === Etymology 2 === From Middle Dutch henne, from Old Dutch *henna, from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n- (“to sing”). ==== Noun ==== hen f (plural hennen, diminutive hennetje n, masculine haan) hen, female chicken; female of a related species a female of the species of birds brooding on the ground (figuratively) 'bird', colloquial term for a human female ===== Synonyms ===== (female chicken) kip, kieken (brooding bird) kloek (female human; informal) kippetje, duifje ===== Related terms ===== haan m (rooster) hoen, hoender n (fowl) ===== Descendants ===== Afrikaans: hen Jersey Dutch: hän === Etymology 3 === Chosen in an online poll by Transgender Netwerk Nederland in 2016. The alternative die arose from the same poll. ==== Pronoun ==== hen (possessive hun) (gender-neutral, nonstandard) A gender-neutral singular third-person personal pronoun. they (singular) subject pronoun them (singular) object pronoun ===== Usage notes ===== Unlike English singular they, Dutch gender-neutral hen agrees with a verb in singular: Hen is hun portemonnee kwijt. ― They have lost their wallet. ===== Synonyms ===== (gender-neutral 3sg pronoun): die ===== See also ===== Genderneutrale voornaamwoorden on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia nl === References === == Finnish == === Noun === hen genitive singular of he (“he (a letter of some Semitic alphabets)”) == Japanese == === Romanization === hen Rōmaji transcription of へん == Mandarin == === Romanization === hen nonstandard spelling of hēn nonstandard spelling of hén nonstandard spelling of hěn nonstandard spelling of hèn ==== Usage notes ==== Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone. == Middle English == === Alternative forms === henne, hene, han, en, heene === Etymology === From Old English henn, from Proto-West Germanic *hannju, from Proto-Germanic *hanjō. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /hɛn/ Rhymes: -ɛn === Noun === hen (plural hennes or hennen, genitive singular hennes or henne) hen, chicken female bird ==== Descendants ==== English: hen Scots: hen Yola: hen, hin ==== References ==== “hen, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 3 April 2018. == Mohawk == === Particle === hen yes == Norwegian Bokmål == === Etymology 1 === From Middle Low German hen, henne. ==== Adverb ==== hen used with a verb, indicating a movement towards or to something. (dialectal) where === Etymology 2 === Through Swedish hen from Finnish hän. ==== Pronoun ==== hen (third person singular gender-neutral personal pronoun, possessive hens) (neologism, rare) they ===== Usage notes ===== Hen can be used when someone's gender is unknown or irrelevant, or to refer to someone who prefers a gender neutral pronoun instead of han (“he”) or hun (“she”). ===== See also ===== han (“he”), hun (“she”), vedkommende (“they”) === References === “hen” in The Bokmål Dictionary. “hen_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB). === Further reading === "Det kjønnsnøytrale pronomenet hen har kome inn i norsk dei siste åra og blir brukt i to litt ulike tydingar. I juni 2022 kom ordet òg inn i rettskrivingsnormene for nynorsk og bokmål." “New gender-neutral pronoun likely to enter Norwegian dictionaries” by Weronika Strzyżyńska (2022-02-02), in The Guardian == Norwegian Nynorsk == === Etymology 1 === From Middle Low German hen, henne. ==== Adverb ==== hen used with a verb, indicating a movement towards or to something. (dialectal) where === Etymology 2 === Through Swedish hen from Finnish hän. ==== Pronoun ==== hen (third person singular gender-neutral personal pronoun, possessive hens) (neologism) they ===== Usage notes ===== Hen can be used when someone's gender is unknown or irrelevant, or to refer to someone who prefers a gender neutral pronoun instead of han (“he”) or ho (“she”). ===== See also ===== han (“he”), ho (“she”), vedkomande (“they”) === References === “hen” in The Nynorsk Dictionary. “hen”, in Norsk ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet (in Norwegian Nynorsk), volume 5, Oslo: Samlaget, 2005, columns 292–293 “hen” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring “hen_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB). === Further reading === “Det kjønnsnøytrale pronomenet hen har kome inn i norsk dei siste åra og blir brukt i to litt ulike tydingar” “New gender-neutral pronoun likely to enter Norwegian dictionaries” by Weronika Strzyżyńska (2022-02-02), in The Guardian == Polish == === Alternative forms === heń (Southern Greater Poland) hań (Kielce, Przemyśl, Żywiec, Western Lublin, Eastern Lublin, Lublin Voivodeship, Zamość County) haj (Kielce) === Etymology === Inherited from Proto-Slavic *eno. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈxɛn/ Rhymes: -ɛn Syllabification: hen === Adverb === hen (not comparable) (literary) far away === Further reading === hen in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN hen in Polish dictionaries at PWN == Scots == === Noun === hen (uncountable) Term of address for a woman. == Swedish == === Etymology 1 === Created as an alternative to hon (“she”) and han (“he”). The coining of the word has probably been influenced by the Finnish hän, a personal pronoun used about human beings and which does not specify gender (Finnish lacks grammatical gender entirely). Hen was suggested as early as 1966 by linguist Rolf Dunås in Swedish regional newspaper Upsala Nya Tidning and was proposed again in a 1994 article by linguist Hans Karlgren, but did not receive widespread attention until around 2010. ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /hɛn/ Rhymes: -ɛn Rhymes: -ɛnː ==== Pronoun ==== hen (third person singular gender-neutral personal pronoun, oblique hen or henom, possessive hens) (neologism) A third-person singular pronoun of unspecified gender; they, thon; alternative to hon (“she”) and han (“he”). ===== Usage notes ===== Although the word has gained common use, it is not nearly as common as the gendered words han and hon. From 2011 to 2020, usage of hen increased hundredfold in the media, but no increase was seen in 2021. It has been especially popular among activists for gender equality and adherents of queer theory, and with the transgender community. In 2022, usage of hen was ranked in shared first place alongside misspelling of words as the most annoying language phenomenon in a Swedish survey. Publishers of manuals of style and the Swedish Language Council do not proscribe the usage of hen, but recommend the inflected forms hens as the possessive and hen over henom as the object. ===== Declension ===== ==== See also ==== vederbörande === Etymology 2 === From Old Norse hein, from Proto-Germanic *hainō. Related to Norwegian and Icelandic hein (“whetstone”), Old English hān (“stone, rock”) and modern English hone. Further related to Sanskrit शाण (śāṇa) and Latin cōs with the same meaning. See also (dialectal) Swedish hena (“to hone”). ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /heːn/ ==== Noun ==== hen c (archaic, dialectal) a whetstone, particularly the small and soft kind. ===== Declension ===== ===== Synonyms ===== bryne n brynsten c ===== Related terms ===== slipsten c (“grindstone”) === References === == Veps == === Etymology === From Proto-Finnic *hëëno. Cognates include Finnish hieno. === Adjective === hen fine refined, elegant ==== Inflection ==== ==== Derived terms ==== henota === References === Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “изысканный, мелкий, тонкий, утончённый”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎[13], Petrozavodsk: Periodika == Vietnamese == === Pronunciation === (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [hɛn˧˧] (Huế) IPA(key): [hɛŋ˧˧] (Saigon) IPA(key): [hɛŋ˧˧] === Etymology 1 === Cognate with Kuy [Salavan] hɛːn ("to cough"). ==== Noun ==== hen • (𠻃, 𤹖) (pathology) (bệnh ~) asthma Synonyms: suyễn, hen suyễn ===== Derived terms ===== ==== Verb ==== hen • (𠻃, 𤹖) (North Central Vietnam) to cough === Etymology 2 === ==== Particle ==== hen (Southern Vietnam) okay?; alright? == Welsh == === Etymology === From Proto-Brythonic *hen, from Proto-Celtic *senos, from Proto-Indo-European *sénos. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /heːn/ Rhymes: -eːn Rhymes: -ɛn === Adjective === hen (feminine singular hen, plural henion, equative hyned, comparative hŷn or hynach or henach, superlative hynaf or henaf, not mutable) old, aged; ancient, antique, pristine, former; inveterate, chronic; original; senior, elder Antonyms: ifanc, ieuanc, newydd stale, mouldy, musty, fusty unreformed, old, traditional (of style or mode of expressing dates according to the Julian Calendar); reckoned according to the Old Style (of festival) ==== 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. ==== Derived terms ==== == Yola == === Alternative forms === hin === Etymology === From Middle English hen, from Old English henn, from Proto-West Germanic *hannju. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /hɛn/, /hɪn/ === Noun === hen (plural henès) hen Coordinate term: cuck === References === Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 46