chicken
Meanings
noun
- A domesticated subspecies of red junglefowl (Gallus gallus domesticus).
- The meat from this bird eaten as food.
- The young of any bird; a chick.
- A coward.
- A young or inexperienced person.
- A young, attractive, slim man, usually having little body hair; compare chickenhawk.
- 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).
- A simple dance in which the movements of a chicken are imitated.
- A kilogram of cocaine.
- A small pewter pot used in a tavern.
adj
- Cowardly.
verb
- To avoid a situation one is afraid of.
noun
- plural of chick
name
- A census-designated place in Alaska.
Pronunciation
Word forms
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”).
Synonyms
Related words
Derived words
Translations
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