chicken
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: chĭk'ĭn
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃɪkɪn/
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃɪkən/
rhymes: -ɪkɪn
rhymes: -ɪkən
Forms: form: chickens
Etymology: From Middle English chiken (also as chike > English chick), from Old English ċicen, ċycen (“chicken”), of uncertain origin. Possibly from Proto-West Germanic *kiukīn (“chicken”), or alternatively from Proto-West Germanic *kukkīn, equivalent to cock + -en.
Compare North Frisian schückling (“chicken”), Saterland Frisian Sjuuken (“chicken”), Dutch kuiken (“chick, chicken”), German Low German Küken (“chick”), whence German Küken (“chick”), (elevated, obsolete) German Küchlein (“chick”) and Old Norse kjúklingr (“chicken”).
Senses: examples: text: Some chickens lay eggs almost every day. […] Chickens are kept for their meat, too.
ref: 1997, Beverley Randell, Clive Harper, Chickens, Nelson Thornes, →ISBN, page 8:
text: With egg prices rising, more people may be shopping for their own backyard chicken flock.
But before you build a coop and subscribe to Chicken Whisperer, health experts have a warning: Caring for backyard chickens is not as easy as bringing home a cute new kitten, and keeping chickens can come with a handful of serious health risks, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ref: 2023 January 18, Jen Christensen, “High egg prices may tempt you to start your own backyard flock, but chickens carry some health risks”, in CNN:
glosses: A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus), especially so-called when young.
examples: text: Amongst thee more harmless reptiles to be found were several lizards and iguanas. The natives killed these and used them for food. The flesh was not despised by explorers, and I was told it tasted exactly like chicken; but, however good it might have been, my courage was not suffcient to enable me to overcome my prejudice against tasting it.
ref: 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 97:
text: Before cooking chicken, or other poultry, rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
ref: 1995, Jean Paré, Chicken, Etc., Company's Coming Publishing Limited, →ISBN, page 7:
text: Here’s a grocery list of foods Chestnut has eaten competitively, drawn from his Major League Eating bio: apple pie, asparagus, boysenberry pie, brats, burritos, chicken spiedies (a kind of sandwich), chicken wings, chili, corned beef sandwiches, eggs, fish tacos, funnel cake, grilled cheese sandwiches, gyoza, Krystal hamburgers, horseshoe sandwiches, hot dogs, ice cream, jalapeno poppers, kolaches, pastrami sandwiches, Philly cheesesteaks, pierogi, pizza, pork ribs, pulled pork, poutine, salt potatoes, shrimp, tacos, tamales, turkey and Twinkies.
ref: 2015 July 2, Michael Pearson, “6 things to know about hot dog king Joey Chestnut”, in CNN:
glosses: The meat from this bird eaten as food.
examples: text: There they are – four ugly little chickens, a bit more than half-feathered, and all gaping mouths and bare bellies.
ref: 1934, Henry G. Lamond, An Aviary on the Plains, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 220:
glosses: The young of any bird; a chick.
examples: text: 'Why, what a chicken you are! You are not afraid of being robbed; are you?' said Jonas.
ref: 1842 December – 1844 July, Charles Dickens, chapter 28, in The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1844, →OCLC:
text: Then he had an inspiration. "There is Roxton," said he. "He's not a chicken, but he is a useful man in a row. I think I could get him."
ref: 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
text: Usually, I had no problem approaching girls, but this one was different. I went home and berated myself for being such a chicken.
ref: 2008, Lanakila Michael Achong, Haole Boy: The Adoption of Diversity, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 44:
text: (More commonly used as an adjective with this sense; see below.)
glosses: A coward.
examples: text: Purſue your trade of ſcandal-picking,
 Your hints, that Stella is no chicken:
 Your innuendos, when you tell us,
 That Stella loves to talk with fellows; […]
ref: 1752, Jonathan Swift, “Stella's Birth-day, 1720”, in The Works of D. Jonathan Swift. In Nine Volumes. The Seventh Edition, to which is Prefixed, the Doctor's Life, with Remarks on His Writings, from the Earl of Orrery and Others, not to be Found in any Former Edition of His Works, 7th edition, volume II (Containing His Poetical Writings), Dublin; Edinburgh: printed; and … reprinted, for G. Hamilton & J. Balfour, & L. Hunter at Edinburgh; and A. Stalker, at Glasgow; and sold by them and other booksellers, →OCLC, page 99:
text: "This case will make a stir, sir," he remarked. "It beats anything I have seen, and I am no chicken."
ref: 1886, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Lauriston Garden Mystery”, in A Study in Scarlet (Beeton's Christmas Annual; 28th season), London; New York, N.Y.: Ward Lock & Co., November 1887, OCLC 15800088; republished as A Study in Scarlet. A Detective Story, new edition, London: Ward, Lock, Bowden, and Co., 1892, OCLC 23246292, page 43
glosses: A young or inexperienced person.
examples: text: Europe's Favorite Gay Newspaper has something for you! Handsome studs, Tender Chicken, and lots of Male Nudes!
ref: 1976 April 10, “Classified advertisement”, in Gay Community News, page 19:
text: I am a little white chicken, beautiful as sweet and young as beautiful and soft as young and gay as soft and innocent as gay. I dare you to write.
ref: 1991 December 1, Ronald Smith, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 19, number 20, page 14:
glosses: A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair; compare chickenhawk.
synonyms: game of chicken
glosses: The game of dare.
examples: text: Don't play chicken with a freight train; you're guaranteed to lose.
text: The Mini surged forward too. The cars were hurtling towards each other across the pitch. This was a dangerous game of chicken. Who would crumble first?
ref: 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
synonyms: game of chicken
glosses: The game of dare.
A confrontational game in which the participants move toward each other at high speed (usually in automobiles); the player who turns first to avoid colliding into the other is the "chicken" (that is, the loser).
qualifier: preceded by definite article
glosses: A simple dance in which the movements of a chicken are imitated.
examples: text: Up early in the morning trappin' (Trap-trap)
You can get 'em how you askin' (Ask)
How many chickens? You can get 'em whichever way
Nigga, trap turned Zaxby's (Zax)
ref: 2017 January 3, Migos, “Call Casting”, in Culture, Track 3:
ref: 2019 May 20, “15 Chickens”performed by The Norf ft. Rucci, 2Eleven, Ackrite, Nfant, and Lil Deuce:
synonyms: bird
brick
glosses: A kilogram of cocaine.
coordinate_terms: hen
glosses: A small pewter pot used in a tavern.
Synonyms: sense: bird
word: biddy
sense: bird
word: chook
sense: coward
word: coward
sense: young inexperienced person
word: spring chicken
sense: young, attractive, slim man
word: twink
Hyponyms: sense: bird
word: cock
sense: bird
word: cockerel
sense: bird
word: rooster
sense: bird
word: hen
sense: bird
english: young
translation: young
word: chick
sense: bird
english: suitable as food
translation: suitable as food
word: broiler
Derived terms: a chicken in every pot
act chicken
antichicken
Attwater's prairie chicken
Balmoral chicken
bam bam chicken
bang bang chicken
beer-butt chicken
beer-can chicken
beggar's chicken
bin chicken
Blue Hen's Chicken
Bombay chicken
bon bon chicken
bourbon chicken
brick chicken
broiler chicken
brown stew chicken
butter chicken
caramel chicken
chicken-65
chicken 65
chickenability
chicken à la king
chicken à la King
chicken-and-egg
chicken and egg
chicken-and-eggish
chicken-and-egg problem
chicken-and-egg question
chicken and egg question
chicken-and-egg situation
chickenarian
chicken ball
chicken Balmoral
chicken bingo
chicken bit
chicken bog
chickenboner
chicken breast
chicken-breasted
chicken brick
chicken burger
chickenburger
chicken bus
chicken button
chicken cannon
chicken cholera
chicken colonel
chicken coop
chicken cordon bleu
chicken cutlet
chicken cutlet Kiev-style
chicken cutlet Kyiv-style
chicken dance
chickeneater
chicken farmer
chicken feed
chicken-feed
chicken feet
chicken fight
chicken filet
chicken fillet
chicken finger
chicken-fried
chicken-fried steak
chicken from hell
chickenfucker
chickenfurter
chicken gun
chicken hawk
chickenhawk
chicken-hazard
chickenhead
chicken-heart
chicken-hearted
chicken-heartedly
chicken-heartedness
chickenhood
chicken-house
chicken house
chickenhouse
chicken-in-a-basket circuit
chickenish
chickenize
chicken Kiev
chicken Kiev-style
chicken Kyiv
chicken Kyiv-style
chicken ladder
chicken lane
chicken leg
chickenless
chickenlike
chickenlips
Chicken Little
chicken-liver
chicken liver
chicken-livered
chicken lollipop
chicken louse
chicken mami
chickenman
chicken Marengo
chicken Maryland
chicken mushroom
chicken-neck
chicken noodle soup
chicken nugget
chicken of the sea
chicken of the woods
chicken or egg
chicken or egg question
chicken-or-egg question
chicken oriental
chicken paw
chicken pest
chicken pill
chicken-pox
chicken pox
chickenpox
chicken pox party
chicken rice
chicken roll
chicken run
chickenry
chicken salad
chicken salad air
chicken salt
chicken scratch
chicken shell
chickenshit
chicken-shit
chicken shop
chicken sickle
chicken skin
chicken snake
chicken soup
chickenspike
chicken stakes
chicken strips
chicken switch
chicken tender
chicken throne
chicken tractor
chicken-turtle
chicken turtle
chicken under a brick
chicken Wellington
chicken wing
chicken-wing
chicken wire
chickenwort
chickeny
chickenyard
Chinese chicken salad
choke the chicken
choking the chicken
Chongqing chicken
chuckey
churkey
Circassian chicken
city chicken
cobra chicken
cola chicken
coronation chicken
Digby chicken
drunken chicken
engagement chicken
fire chicken
firecracker chicken
Frankenchicken
fried chicken
fried chicken mushroom
game of chicken
gay chicken
General Tao chicken
General Tao's chicken
General Tso chicken
General Tso's chicken
gooducken
greater prairie chicken
gunpowder chicken
Hainanese chicken rice
Hamburg chicken
Hamburgh chicken
headless chicken monster
hell chicken
hen and chicken
Hen and Chicken Islands
hot chicken
huli-huli chicken
hunter's chicken
kampong chicken
Kangean chicken
Kiev-style chicken
Kiev-style chicken cutlet
Kyiv-style chicken
Kyiv-style chicken cutlet
last chicken in the shop
lemon chicken
lesser prairie chicken
like a chicken on a June bug
like a chicken with its head cut off
like a chicken with its head off
like a chicken with no head
like a chicken with the pip
like a headless chicken
marry me chicken
Maryland chicken
Mother Carey's chicken
mountain chicken
Nashville hot chicken
nonchicken
no spring chicken
orange chicken
pharaoh's chicken
Pharaoh's chicken
play chicken
popcorn chicken
prairie chicken
prairie chicken dance
river chicken
rubber chicken
run around like a chicken with its head cut off
sage chicken
Samsui chicken
spherical chicken
spring chicken
Texas chicken
turducken
turken
water chicken
Wenchang chicken
Related terms: egg
poultry
🐔