wean

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian (“to accustom; habituate; train; prepare; make fit”), from Proto-Germanic *wanjaną (“to make wont; accustom”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive for; wish; love”). Cognate with Dutch wennen, German gewöhnen, Danish vænne, Swedish vänja, Icelandic venja. Related via PIE to wone, wont, and wonder, and perhaps win.

Pronunciation

enPR: wēn, IPA^(key): /wiːn/
Rhymes: -iːn
Audio (US) (file)

Verb

wean (third-person singular simple present weans, present participle weaning, simple past and past participle weaned)

(transitive) To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.
The cow has weaned her calf.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Genesis 21:8:
  Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
(intransitive) To cease to depend on the mother's milk for nutrition.
The kittens are finally weaning.
(transitive, by extension, normally "wean off") To cause to quit something to which one is addicted, dependent, or habituated.
He managed to wean himself off heroin.
- 1727, Jonathan Swift, (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎:
  The troubles of age were intended […] to wean us gradually from our fondness of life.
- March 6, 2017, John Oliver, “Interview with the Dalai Lama”, in Last Week Tonight:
  Dalai Lama: "Then, I suggested, “Drink much less vodka.” Instead of that, they traditionally also drink horse milk—"
  Oliver: "Wait, hold on, you tried to wean them off vodka by giving them horse milk?"
  Dalai Lama: "Oh yes, and they follow."
(intransitive, by extension) To cease to depend.
She is weaning from her addiction to tobacco.
(transitive, by extension, obsolete) To raise, to help grow toward maturity
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, OCLC 932920499; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
  For they are friends that help to weane my ſtate,
  Till men and kingdomes help to ſtrengthen it: […]

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *wenh₁-‎ (0 c, 12 e)

Translations

to cease giving milk

Arabic: فَطَمَ‎ (faṭama)
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Belarusian: адняць ад грудзей pf (adnjacʹ ad hrudzjej), аднімаць ад грудзей impf (adnimacʹ ad hrudzjej), адлучыць ад грудзей pf (adlučycʹ ad hrudzjej), адлучаць ад грудзей impf (adlučacʹ ad hrudzjej)
Bulgarian: отбивам (bg) (otbivam)
Catalan: deslletar (ca), desmamar (ca)
Czech: odstavit
Dutch: afnemen (nl)
Finnish: vieroittaa
French: sevrer (fr)
German: abstillen (de), entwöhnen (de)
Greek: απογαλακτίζω (el) (apogalaktízo)
Hungarian: elválaszt (hu)
Ido: ablaktar (io)
Italian: svezzare (it)
Ladino: destetar
Maori: whakamutu i te kai waiū, whakamakere ū
Portuguese: desmamar (pt)
Quechua: hanuk'ay
Romanian: înțărca (ro)
Russian: отнима́ть от груди́ impf (otnimátʹ ot grudí), отня́ть от груди́ pf (otnjátʹ ot grudí), отлуча́ть (ru) impf (otlučátʹ), отлучи́ть (ru) pf (otlučítʹ)
Spanish: destetar (es)
Swedish: avvänja (sv)
Thai: please add this translation if you can
Turkish: sütten kesmek (tr)
Ukrainian: відлучати від грудей impf (vidlučaty vid hrudej), відлучити від грудей pf (vidlučyty vid hrudej)
Vietnamese: dứt sữa, cai sữa
Westrobothnian: väṇė å
Yiddish: אַנטװײנען‎ (antveynen)

to cease to depend on the mother for nourishment

Arabic: اِنْفَطَمَ‎ (infaṭama)
Czech: odvyknout, odnaučit se
Dutch: spenen (nl)
Finnish: vieroittua
Greek: απογαλακτίζομαι (el) (apogalaktízomai)
Japanese: 乳離れさせる (chichibanare saseru)
Macedonian: одвикнува (odviknuva)
Russian: отуча́ть от груди́ impf (otučátʹ ot grudí), отучи́ть от груди́ pf (otučítʹ ot grudí), (any dependency) отуча́ть (ru) impf (otučátʹ), отучи́ть (ru) pf (otučítʹ)
Spanish: destetarse (es)
Thai: หย่านม (th) (yàa-nom)
Turkish: sütten kesilmek

to cause to quit something to which one is addicted or habituated

Bulgarian: отучвам (bg) (otučvam)
Catalan: deshabituar (ca), desacostumar (ca)
Finnish: päästä eroon, päästä irti
French: déshabituer (fr)
Hungarian: leszoktat (hu)
Italian: disabituare (it)
Spanish: deshabituar (es), desengancharse (es)

to cease to depend

Catalan: desacostumar (ca)
Czech: odnaučit pf
Dutch: ontwennen (nl)
Finnish: vieroittua
French: sevrer (fr)
German: entwöhnen (de)
Japanese: やめさせる (yame saseru)
Macedonian: се одвикнува (se odviknuva)
Russian: (breastfeeding) отвыка́ть от груди́ impf (otvykátʹ ot grudí), отвы́кнуть от груди́ pf (otvýknutʹ ot grudí), (any dependency) отвыка́ть (ru) impf (otvykátʹ), отвы́кнуть (ru) pf (otvýknutʹ)
Swedish: avvänja (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Norwegian: ^{(please verify)} avvenne
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} avvänja (sv)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Scots wean (literally “wee one”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwiː(ə)n/, /ˈweɪ(ə)n/, [weːn]

Noun

wean (plural weans)

(Scotland, Ulster) A small child.
- 1856, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “Third Book”, in Aurora Leigh, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1857, OCLC 1000396166:
  I, being but a yearling wean.
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
  And there were darker tales in the countryside, of weans stolen, of lassies misguided, of innocent beasts cruelly tortured, and in one and all there came in the name of the wife of the Skerburnfoot.
- 2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy‎, Penguin 2009, page 92:
  Pigs, cows and sheep and wee ducks, that was what he bought and it was just for weans and wee lasses. I said it to my maw.
  Oh it is not weans it is children. Oh Kieron, it is children and girls, do not say weans and lasses.

Anagrams

Ewan, Newa, anew, wane

Old English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /wæ͜ɑːn/

Noun

wēan m

inflection of wēa:
1. accusative/genitive/dative singular
2. nominative/accusative plural

Scots

Etymology

wee +‎ ane

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [wen], [ˈwɪən]

Noun

wean (plural weans)

young child

Synonyms

bairnie

Derived terms

weanish

References

“wean” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.