flesh of an older chicken suitable for stewing
"The recipe calls for a hen because its tougher, fibrous meat is perfect for slow stewing."
female of certain aquatic animals e.g. octopus or lobster
"The male crab tried to mate with the hen, but she rejected him because she was not actually a bird."
A female chicken (Gallus gallus), particularly a sexually mature one kept for her eggs.
"The farmer checked on his hen to see if she had laid an egg that morning."
In plain English: A hen is an adult female chicken that lays eggs.
"The old hen stayed in her coop while the rest of the flock went foraging."
Usage: Use the singular form hen to refer to an individual adult female chicken, while pluralize it as hens when counting more than one. This term specifically denotes birds raised primarily for egg production rather than meat or roosters.
Alternative form of mother-hen
"Please do not hen me while I am trying to finish my work."
To throw.
In plain English: To hen means to lock someone up, usually as punishment for misbehaving.
"The old woman began to hen her grandchildren into running faster before dinner."
Hence.
"The old hen decided to lay an egg, hence the surprise in the basket."
The word "hen" comes from the Proto-Indo-European root *kan-, meaning "to sing," which likely described a hen's crowing sound. It traveled into Middle and then Modern English through Old English with this same original meaning of female chicken.