An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Henne

by Friedrich Kluge

Henne, feminine, ‘hen,’ from Middle High German and Middle Low German hęnne, Old High German henna, feminine; compare Anglo-Saxon hęnn, English hen (Anglo-Saxon hana was even in the Anglo-Saxon period supplanted by its equivalent cock); a West Teutonic feminine of the common Teutonic hano, ‘cock,’ to which are allied the graded forms, Old Icelandic hœna, Old Swedish and Modern Swedish ho̊na, ‘hen’ (Old High German also hęnin, hęninna, ‘hen’). See Hahn, Huhn.