wean
pronunciation
How to pronounce wean in British English:
UK [wi:n]
How to pronounce wean in American English:
US [win]
-
- Verb:
- gradually deprive (infants) of mother's milk
- detach the affections of
Word Origin
- wean
- wean: [OE] The etymological notion underlying wean is of ‘becoming accustomed’. The specialization to ‘making accustomed to food other than mother’s milk’ is a secondary development. The word comes from a prehistoric Germanic *wanjan (source also of German gewöhnen ‘accustom’). This was derived from the adjective *wanaz ‘accustomed’, which in turn was formed from the base *wan-, *wen-, *wun-(source also of English winsome, wish, and wont ‘accustomed’ [OE]).=> winsome, wish, wont
- wean (v.)
- "train (an infant or animal) to forego suckling," c. 1200, from Old English wenian "to accustom, habituate," from Proto-Germanic *wanjan (cognates: Old Norse venja, Dutch wennen, Old High German giwennan, German gewöhnen "to accustom"), from PIE *won-eyo-, from root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." The sense of "accustom a child to not suckling from the breast" in Old English generally was expressed by gewenian or awenian, which has a sense of "unaccustom" (compare German abgewöhnen, entwöhnen "to wean," literally "to unaccustom"). The modern word might be one of these with the prefix worn off, or it might be wenian in a specialized sense of "accustom to a new diet." Figurative extension to any pursuit or habit is from 1520s.
Example
- 1. This makes it hard for china to wean itself off coal , which has long been cheaper than natural gas or oil .
- 2. The government must also provide a clear strategy and policy to wean itself , at least partially , off imports .
- 3. Carnivores , due to their high quality diet , can wean earlier than herbivores and omnivores .
- 4. These often unregulated institutions promise to wean kids off the net and correct other undesirable behaviour but have become notorious for inhumane methods .
- 5. One aim of the property tax is to provide local governments with a steady new income that will help wean them off their dependence on one-off land deals .