CHICKEN

I. noun Etymology: Middle English chiken, from Old English cicen young ~; akin to Old English cocc cock Date: 14th century 1. the common domestic fowl ( Gallus gallus ) especially when young, any of various birds or their young, a young woman, 3. coward , any of various contests in which the participants risk personal safety in order to see which one will give up first, petty details, a young male homosexual, II. adjective Date: 1941 1. scared , timid , cowardly , 2. slang insistent on petty details of duty or discipline, petty , unimportant, III. intransitive verb (~ed; ~ing) Date: 1943 to lose one's nerve