dictionary definitions for "chicken"


From WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003) [wn]:

  chicken
      adj : easily frightened [syn: chickenhearted, lily-livered,
            white-livered, yellow, yellow-bellied]
      n 1: the flesh of a chicken used for food [syn: poulet,
           volaille]
      2: a domestic fowl bred for flesh or eggs; believed to have
         been developed from the red jungle fowl [syn: {Gallus
         gallus}]
      3: a person who lacks confidence, is irresolute and wishy-washy
          [syn: wimp, crybaby]
      4: a foolhardy competition; a dangerous activity that is
         continued until one competitor becomes afraid and stops

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Chicken \Chick"en\, n. [AS. cicen, cyceun, dim. of coc cock;
     akin to LG. kiken, k["u]ken, D. Kieken, kuiken, G.
     k["u]chkein. See Cock the animal.]
     1. A young bird or fowl, esp. a young barnyard fowl.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A young person; a child; esp. a young woman; a maiden;
        same as spring chicken. "Stella is no chicken." --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Chicken cholera, a contagious disease of fowls; -- so
        called because first studied during the prevalence of a
        cholera epidemic in France. It has no resemblance to true
        cholera.
        [1913 Webster]


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