Henhussy
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A girl or woman who tends chickens. obsolete
""John," called Mr. Carter, "who'd ye think's going t' take care of the hens?"¶ Newsy's feet stopping more suddenly than his head, he was obliged to turn a rapid handspring in order to reestablish his equilibrium. He came up yelling, "What! Her?"¶ "Yes, her," boomed Mr. Carter. "She’s t’ be the hen hussy on these premises.”"
- 2 A man who performs tasks that traditionally belong to a woman. derogatory, obsolete
"When I saw the family last, his second wife had built her nest, though not half so well as her predecessor. She was sitting on her eggs, and was most affectionately tended by her husband. Sophia complains that he has become somewhat of a hen-hussy, and had rather be cowering over the nest than abroad on the wing, with his gay flock."
- 3 A housewife. archaic
"She came forward, a henhussy in her middle forties, shaped somewhat like a thick Letter S as a consequence of upper frontal stick-out and lower rear protrusion."
Example
More examples""John," called Mr. Carter, "who'd ye think's going t' take care of the hens?"¶ Newsy's feet stopping more suddenly than his head, he was obliged to turn a rapid handspring in order to reestablish his equilibrium. He came up yelling, "What! Her?"¶ "Yes, her," boomed Mr. Carter. "She’s t’ be the hen hussy on these premises.”"
Etymology
From hen + hussy.
More for "henhussy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.