peahen

noun

pea·​hen ˈpē-ˌhen How to pronounce peahen (audio)
: a female peafowl

Examples of peahen in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The birds are commonly known as peacocks, though the females are technically peahens, and both are peafowl. Sydney Page, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024 Females are known as peahens, babies are peachicks, and the birds as a whole are known as peafowl. Jeffrey Kluger, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 One owner reports an especially amorous peacock with a tendency to try to mate not just with peahens but with trees, cars, cats, lawnmowers, and fire hydrants. Jeffrey Kluger, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 Wilson and Reinhorn currently have several pets including a peahen, a donkey, horses, pigs and dogs. Katie Mannion, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023 Peafowl, which includes male peacocks and female peahens, are not native to Texas. Shepard Price, San Antonio Express-News, 9 May 2023 To a peahen, a movie in the theater might look like a person rapidly flipping through slides in a PowerPoint presentation, rather than fluid motion. Carl Engelking, Discover Magazine, 27 Apr. 2016 For every peacock fanning out its dazzling feathers to attract a peahen, there’s another creature doing something strange, or downright deadly, in the name of passing down its genes. Kate Golembiewski, CNN, 14 Feb. 2023 That theory has held for the last century and a half, but was never really demonstrated, because who really knows what's going on inside the brain of a peahen? Breanna Draxler, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2013

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'peahen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pehenne, from pe- + henne hen

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of peahen was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near peahen

Cite this Entry

“Peahen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peahen. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

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