marsh hen

1. 1.

   a coot found in North America

   SynonymsAmerican cootmud henwater henFulica americana

   Broadercoot

   Part ofFulica
2. 2.

   any of various small aquatic birds of the genus Gallinula distinguished from rails by a frontal shield and a resemblance to domestic hens

   Synonymsgallinulewater henswamphen

   Broaderaquatic bird

   NarrowerFlorida gallinulemoorhenpurple gallinule

   Part ofGallinula

Questions about marsh hen

What does marsh hen mean?

marsh hen means "a coot found in North America". That is the primary sense; the word has 2 in total, listed in full on this page.

What is another word for marsh hen?

Close synonyms include American coot, mud hen, water hen, Fulica americana, gallinule. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is marsh hen a common word?

marsh hen is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.