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chicken - 5 dictionary results
chick⋅en
[chik-uh
n] 
–noun
| 1. | a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl of southeastern Asia and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers. |
| 2. | the young of this bird, esp. when less than a year old. |
| 3. | the flesh of the chicken, esp. of the young bird, used as food. |
| 4. | Informal. a young or inexperienced person, esp. a young girl. |
| 5. | Slang.
|
| 6. | a contest in which two cars approach each other at high speed down the center of a road, the object being to force one's opponent to veer away first. |
| 7. | a policy or strategy of challenging an opponent to risk a clash or yield: diplomats playing chicken at the conference table. |
–adjective
—Verb phrase| 8. | (of food) containing, made from, or having the flavor of chicken: chicken salad; chicken soup. |
| 9. | Slang.
|
| 10. | chicken out, Slang.
|
| 11. | count one's chickens before they are hatched, to rely on a benefit that is still uncertain: They were already spending in anticipation of their inheritance, counting their chickens before they were hatched. |
Origin:
bef. 950; 1605–15 for def. 5a; 1940–45 for def. 7; ME chiken, OE cīcen; akin to MD kieken (D kuiken), LG küken
bef. 950; 1605–15 for def. 5a; 1940–45 for def. 7; ME chiken, OE cīcen; akin to MD kieken (D kuiken), LG küken
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To chicken
| chick·en (chĭk'ən) n.
intr.v. chick·ened, chick·en·ing, chick·ens Slang To act in a cowardly manner; lose one's nerve: chickened out at the last moment. [Middle English chiken, from Old English cīcen.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Chicken
Chick"en\, n. [AS. cicen, cyceun, dim. of coc cock; akin to LG. kiken, k["u]ken, D. Kieken, kuiken, G. k["u]chkein. See Cock the animal.]1. A young bird or fowl, esp. a young barnyard fowl. 2. A young person; a child; esp. a young woman; a maiden. "Stella is no chicken." --Swift. Chicken cholera, a contagious disease of fowls; -- so called because first studied during the prevalence of a cholera epidemic in France. It has no resemblance to true cholera.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : chicken
Italian:
pollo,
German:
das Küken,
Japanese:
ひよこ
chicken
O.E. cycen "young fowl," which in M.E. came to mean "young chicken," then any chicken, from W.Gmc. *kiukinam, from base *keuk- (possibly root of cock, of echoic origin) + dim. suffix. Sense of "cowardly" is at least as old as 14c.; the v. meaning "to back down or fail through cowardice" is from 1943, U.S. slang; as a game of danger to test courage, it is first recorded 1953. Chicken hawk "public person who advocates war but who declined significant opportunity to serve in uniform during wartime" is attested from at least 1988, Amer.Eng. Chicken pox (c.1730) may be a disparaging name because of their mildness compared to smallpox. Chicken feed "paltry sum of money" is from 1904. Chickweed (c.1440) was in O.E. cicene mete "chicken food."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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chicken
In addition to the idioms beginning with chicken, also see count one's chickens; go to bed with (the chickens); like a chicken with its head cut off; no spring chicken.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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