Adult female domestic fowls, especially chickens, kept for laying eggs or meat production. The plural form of hen.
From Old English 'henn', feminine form of 'hana' (rooster), from Proto-Germanic 'hanjon'. The word has remained remarkably stable across Germanic languages for over a millennium. Originally distinguished grammatically by gender, with 'hen' specifically referring to the female bird, while 'cock' or 'rooster' referred to males.
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