A woman who tends to or cares for hens; a female poultry keeper.
From 'hen' (Old English 'henn') + 'wife' (Old English 'wif', originally meaning woman, later used for married women). This compound follows the pattern of occupational words like 'midwife'.
'Henwife' is a perfectly logical occupational term that shows how English used to have specific gendered words for jobs—just as a 'midwife' was a female birth attendant, a 'henwife' was specifically a woman managing the henhouse, a crucial farm role that was often women's work.
Henwife historically referred to a woman whose labor was tending poultry—a common occupation for women in agrarian economies. The term now reads as quaint or diminishing, typical of gendered occupational language where male equivalents (henman) don't exist or aren't used.
Use 'poultry keeper' or 'poultry tender' regardless of gender when the role is performed by any person.
["poultry keeper","poultry tender","chicken keeper"]
Women's agricultural and domestic labor has been systematically undervalued and undercompensated historically. Henwife labor sustained rural economies but was rarely credited as skilled work.
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