English Explanatory Dictionary

chicken and egg

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A situation or case in which it is difficult to distinguish cause and effect, having a circular character.

Word forms

chicken and egg chicken-and-egg chicken or egg

Etymology

From the proverbial question of whether the chicken or the egg came first, attested as early as Aristotle (4th century BCE).

Synonyms

hen and egg

Derived words

chicken-and-eggish
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