Where does “hen” come from?

Hen derives from Middle English hen, from Old English hen, from Proto-Germanic hanjō, from Proto-Indo-European kan-, which traces through ḱe- and kaw- to the Proto-Indo-European root kaw- with the suffix -yeti.

hen (English): A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs

Definitions

  1. A female chicken (Gallus gallus), especially a sexually mature one kept for her eggs

Ancestry of “hen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishhenhen, chicken; female bird
2Old Englishhennhen
3Proto-West Germanic*hannjuhen
4Proto-Germanichanjōhen
5Proto-Indo-Europeankeh₂n-to sing

Words derived from “hen”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European keh₂n- →