hen

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
hen/hen/

▶noun

• 1 a female bird, especially of a domestic fowl.

  ■ (hens) domestic fowls of either sex.

  ■ used in names of various rails and other birds, e.g. native hen.

  ■ a female lobster, crab, or salmon.

• 2 Scottish used as an affectionate term of address to a girl or woman.

– phrases
as rare (or scarce) as hen's teeth very rare.

– origin OE henn, of Gmc origin.