'Moor hen' definitions:

Definition of 'Moor hen'

From: GCIDE
  • Moor \Moor\, n. [OE. mor, AS. m[=o]r moor, morass; akin to D. moer moor, G. moor, and prob. to Goth. marei sea, E. mere. See Mere a lake.]
  • 1. An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath. [1913 Webster]
  • In her girlish age she kept sheep on the moor. --Carew. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A game preserve consisting of moorland. [1913 Webster]
  • Moor buzzard (Zool.), the marsh harrier. [Prov. Eng.]
  • Moor coal (Geol.), a friable variety of lignite.
  • Moor cock (Zool.), the male of the moor fowl or red grouse of Europe.
  • Moor coot. (Zool.) See Gallinule.
  • Moor game. (Zool.) Same as Moor fowl.
  • Moor grass (Bot.), a tufted perennial grass ({Sesleria caerulea}), found in mountain pastures of Europe.
  • Moor hawk (Zool.), the marsh harrier.
  • Moor hen. (Zool.) (a) The female of the moor fowl. (b) A gallinule, esp. the European species. See Gallinule. (c) An Australian rail (Tribonyx ventralis).
  • Moor monkey (Zool.), the black macaque of Borneo ({Macacus maurus}).
  • Moor titling (Zool.), the European stonechat ({Pratinocola rubicola}). [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'moor hen'

From: GCIDE
  • Gallinule \Gal"li*nule\, n. [L. gallinula chicken, dim. of gallina hen: cf. F. gallinule.] (Zool.) One of several wading birds, having long, webless toes, and a frontal shield, belonging to the family Rallidae. They are remarkable for running rapidly over marshes and on floating plants. The purple gallinule of America is {Ionornis Martinica}, that of the Old World is Porphyrio porphyrio. The common European gallinule (Gallinula chloropus) is also called moor hen, water hen, water rail, moor coot, night bird, and erroneously dabchick. Closely related to it is the Florida gallinule (Gallinula galeata). [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The purple gallinule of Southern Europe and Asia was formerly believed to be able to detect and report adultery, and for that reason, chiefly, it was commonly domesticated by the ancients. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'moor hen'

From: GCIDE