What does "woodhen" mean?

Any of the species Hypotaenidia sylvestris (syns. Gallirallus sylvestris, Tricholimnas sylvestris, Ocydromus sylvestris) of rails in the family Rallidae endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia.

Woodhen

//ˈwʊd.hɛn// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
Any of the species Hypotaenidia sylvestris (syns. Gallirallus sylvestris, Tricholimnas sylvestris, Ocydromus sylvestris) of rails in the family Rallidae endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia.
"The story of the woodhen is one outstanding conservation triumph in a plethora of tragedy."

Example

More examples

"The story of the woodhen is one outstanding conservation triumph in a plethora of tragedy."

Etymology

From Middle English wodhen, from Old English wuduhenn (“woodhen, quail”), equivalent to wood + hen.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.