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henry definition

☆ henry (hen′rē)

noun pl. henrys -·rys or henries -·ries

Elec. the basic unit of electric inductance in the SI and MKS systems, equal to the inductance of a circuit in which the variation of current at the rate of one ampere per second induces an electromotive force of one volt: abbrev. H

Etymology: after J. Henry (1797-1878), U.S. physicist

Henry1 definition

Henry (hen′rē)

noun

a masculine name: dim. Hal, Hank, Henny; var. Harry; equiv. L. Henricus, Du. Hendrik, Fr. Henri, Ger. Heinrich, It. Enrico, Sp. Enrique; fem. Henrietta

Etymology: Fr Henri < Ger Heinrich < OHG Haganrih, lit., ruler of an enclosure (< hag-, haw, a hedging in + rihhi, ruler) & also altered < OHG Heimerich, lit., home ruler (< heim, home)

Henry2 definition

Henry (hen′rē)

  1. 1394-1460; prince of Portugal: called Henry the Navigator
  2. 1068-1135; king of England (1100-35): son of William the Conqueror
  3. 1133-89; king of England (1154-89): 1st Plantagenet king
  4. 1207-72; king of England (1216-72)
  5. 1551-89; king of France (1574-89)
  6. 1050-1106; king of Germany (1056-1105) & Holy Roman Emperor (1084-1105): dethroned
  7. 1367-1413; king of England (1399-1413): 1st Lancastrian king: son of John of Gaunt: called Bolingbroke
  8. 1553-1610; king of France (1589-1610): 1st Bourbon king: called Henry of Navarre
  9. 1387-1422; king of England (1413-22): defeated the French at Agincourt
  10. 1421-71; king of England (1422-61; 1470-71)
  11. 1457-1509; king of England (1485-1509): 1st Tudor king
  12. 1491-1547; king of England (1509-47): broke with the papacy and established the Church of England
  13. Henry, O. (pseud. of William Sydney Porter) 1862-1910; U.S. short-story writer
  14. Henry, Patrick 1736-99; Am. patriot, statesman, & orator
Henry3 definition

Henry (hen′rē)

  1. Etymology: after Prince Henry, son of James

    promontory in SE Va., at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay
  2. Confederate fort in NW Tenn., on the Tennessee River: captured (1862) by Union forces

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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