moorhen

M3O1O1R1H4E1N1
UK/ˈmʊəɹˌhɛn/US/ˈmʊɹˌhɛn/

noun

Any of various medium-sized water birds of the genus Gallinula, of the rail family, that feed in open water margins.

Similar
marsh hengallinulestank henstankiemoggyGallinula chloropus
OriginMiddle English morhen ← Old English *mōrhenn →
UncommonScrabble 12
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Meanings

nounmoorhen (plural moorhens)

plural moorhens

  1. Any of various medium-sized water birds of the genus Gallinula, of the rail family, that feed in open water margins.

    The pond was another favourite place to visit. Moorhens strutted from the neighbouring bushes, and a bevy of Muscovy ducks, a study in black, white and red, waddled from the farmyard hard by to enjoy a refreshing splash.

    1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 217

    Synonyms: marsh hen, gallinule, stank hen, stankie

  2. UKA female red grouse, Lagopus lagopus scotica.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of various medium-sized water birds of the genus Gallinula, of the rail family, that feed in open water margins.

Similar
marsh hengallinulestank henstankie
Similar
moggy

More synonyms by meaning

nounblack gallinule that inhabits ponds and lakes

Similar
Gallinula chloropus
Broader
gallinulemarsh henwater hen
Also see
gorhenmarsh henstank henstankie

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishworhenn
  2. Old English*mōrhenn
  3. Middle Englishmorhen
  4. Englishmoorhen

From Middle English morhen, perhaps from Old English *mōrhenn, an alteration of Old English worhenn (compare coordinate masculine term mōrhana, a possible corruption of worhana (“pheasant”)), equivalent to moor + hen.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian водна кокошка
  • водна кокошка (vodna kokoška)water birds of the genus Gallinula
Catalan polla d'aigua
  • polla d'aiguawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Chinese Mandarin 黑水雞 /黑水鸡
  • 黑水雞 /黑水鸡 (hēishuǐjī)water birds of the genus Gallinula
Czech slípka
  • slípkawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Dutch waterhoen
  • waterhoenwater birds of the genus Gallinula
Esperanto galinolo
  • galinolowater birds of the genus Gallinula
Finnish liejukana
  • liejukanawater birds of the genus Gallinula
French poule d'eau
  • poule d'eauwater birds of the genus Gallinula
German Teichralle
  • Teichrallewater birds of the genus Gallinula
Greek νερόκοτα
  • νερόκοτα (nerókota)water birds of the genus Gallinula
Hungarian vízityúk
  • vízityúkwater birds of the genus Gallinula
Irish cearc uisce
  • cearc uiscewater birds of the genus Gallinula
Italian gallinella d'acqua
  • gallinella d'acquawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Polish kokoszka
  • kokoszkawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Portuguese frango-d'água, galinha-d'água
  • frango-d'águawater birds of the genus Gallinula
  • galinha-d'águawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Romanian găinușă, găinușă de baltă
  • găinușăwater birds of the genus Gallinula
  • găinușă de baltăwater birds of the genus Gallinula
Russian камы́шница
  • камы́шница (kamýšnica)water birds of the genus Gallinula
Scottish Gaelic cearc-uisge, cearc-fhraoich
  • cearc-uisgewater birds of the genus Gallinula
  • cearc-fhraoichwater birds of the genus Gallinula
Spanish gallineta de agua
  • gallineta de aguawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Swedish rörhöna
  • rörhönawater birds of the genus Gallinula
Welsh iâr ddŵr
  • iâr ddŵrwater birds of the genus Gallinula

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

hormone
Cite this entry
APA

moorhen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moorhen

MLA

“moorhen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moorhen. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moorhen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moorhen.

Source: moorhen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.