■ noun
1》 a female bird, especially of a domestic fowl.
↘( ~s ) domestic fowls of either sex.
↘used in names of various rails and other birds, e.g. native ~ .
↘a female lobster, crab, or salmon.
2》 Scottish used as an affectionate term of address to a girl or woman.
Phrases
as rare (or scarce ) as ~'s teeth extremely rare.
Origin
OE ~n , of Gmc origin.