Pullet

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈpʊlɪt/

Definitions

1. A term for a female chicken that has yet to lay eggs, this word denotes a young bird reaching less than one year of age that remains immature and unproductive
2. A young female chicken that is not yet mature enough to lay eggs represents a stage in development before adulthood is reached
3. This term refers to a juvenile female bird that has not begun to produce eggs and is still in its growth phase

Etymology: The pullet is a young hen, and its name comes from the Latin word for a young animal of any kind. Latin "pullus" meant a young animal, most often a chick, and by Vulgar Latin speakers it had been given a feminine form, "pulla", that was used for a young hen. Old French turned that into "poule" for a hen and "poulet" for a young chicken, and Middle English borrowed the diminutive "polet" from Anglo-Norman "pullet", giving us the word we use today. The English word has a close relative that took a different path. "Poult", a young domestic fowl of either sex, comes from the same Latin source but reached English by another route, so the two are doublets: separate borrowings of one root. The resemblance between them is a sign that French and English each took the same Latin word and shaped it differently over the centuries.

Synonyms: young hen