hen yard
- noun
:
corral de gallinas
- Every morning, she collected eggs from the hen yard before starting her day.
Examples
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The children loved to play near the hen yard while watching the hens cluck and peck at the ground.
-
The farmer built a spacious hen yard to give his chickens plenty of room to roam.
-
I might as well try to work in a hen yard as this house.
Synonyms
651
1.0
An area of land next to a building, often fenced, used for animals, work or play
451
1.0
An area of land behind a house used for play and gardening
31
1.6
A small building where people keep chickens or other birds
21
3.0
An area next to a barn where people keep farm animals
14
1.4
A small farm building where chickens live
10
1.3
A small building where people keep chickens
5
1.7
An open area next to farm buildings where farmers keep animals and tools
1
1.7
A yard where chickens are kept
1
2.2
An enclosed outdoor area where chickens live and move
An enclosed yard where chickens or ducks are kept
A small building on a farm where chickens live
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'an enclosed area where hens are kept' is directly and compositionally derived from combining 'hen' (female chicken) with 'yard' (an area of ground), forming a transparent noun-noun compound. This is a regular, productive pattern in English (and found in many other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Hen yard comes from the clear image of a small yard where hens live, peck, and lay eggs. The words hen and yard show this literal scene, so the phrase means 'an enclosed area where hens or other poultry are kept'.