[chick.en] n [ME chiken, fr. OE cicen young chicken; akin to OE cocc cock] (14c) 1 a: the common domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) esp. when young; also: its flesh used as food--compare jungle fowl b: any of various birds or their young
2: a young woman 3 a: coward b: any of various contests in which the participants risk personal safety in order to see which one will give up first
4. [short for chickenshit] slang: petty details
5: a young male homosexual
[2]chicken adj (1941) 1 a: scared b: timid, cowardly
2. slang a: insistent on petty details of duty or discipline b: petty, unimportant [3]chicken vi chick.ened ; chick.en.ing (1943): to lose one's nerve--usu. used with out "seemed to exhibit courage, manliness, and conviction when others ~ed out --J. R. Seeley"