wean

wean
transitive verb Etymology: Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian to accustom, wean; akin to Old English wunian to be used to — more at wont Date: before 12th century 1. to accustom (as a young child or animal) to take food otherwise than by nursing 2. to detach from a source of dependence <
being weaned off the medication
>
<
wean the bears from human food — Sports Illus.
>
; also to free from a usually unwholesome habit or interest <
wean him off his excessive drinking
>
<
settling his soldiers on the land…, weaning them from habits of violence — Geoffrey Carnall
>
3. to accustom to something from an early age — used in the passive especially with on <
students weaned on the Internet for research
>
<
I was weaned on greasepaint — Helen Hayes
>
<
the principles upon which he had been weaned — J. A. Michener
>

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • wean — wean·el; wean·er; wean·ie; wean·ly; wean·yer; wean; wean·ling; …   English syllables

  • wean on — ˈwean on [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they wean on he/she/it weans on present participle weaning on past tense weaned on past partic …   Useful english dictionary

  • Wean — Wean, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Weaned}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Weaning}.] [OE. wenen, AS. wenian, wennan, to accustom; akin to D. wennen, G. gew[ o]hnen, OHG. giwennan, Icel. venja, Sw. v[ a]nja, Dan. v[ae]nne, Icel. vanr accustomed, wont; cf. AS.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wean — [wi:n] v [T] [: Old English; Origin: wenian] to gradually stop feeding a baby or young animal on its mother s milk and start giving it ordinary food wean sb onto sth ▪ It s time to start weaning her onto solid foods. wean off/from [wean sb… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Wean — Wean, n. A weanling; a young child. [1913 Webster] I, being but a yearling wean. Mrs. Browning. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • wean — Ⅰ. wean [1] ► VERB 1) accustom (a young mammal) to food other than its mother s milk. 2) (often wean off) make (someone) give up a habit or addiction. 3) (be weaned on) be strongly influenced by (something) from an early age. ORIGIN Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • wean — O.E. wenian to accustom, from P.Gmc. *wanjanan (Cf. O.N. venja, Du. wennen, O.H.G. giwennan, Ger. gewöhnen to accustom ), from *wanaz accustomed (related to WONT (Cf. wont)). The sense of weaning a child from the breast in O.E. was generally… …   Etymology dictionary

  • wean — wean1 [wēn] vt. [ME wenen < OE wenian, to accustom, train, with sense of awenian, to wean < a (< af , away) + wenian < IE base * wen , to desire, attain, be satisfied > L venus, love] 1. to cause (a child or young animal) to become …   English World dictionary

  • wean — index alienate (estrange), withdraw Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • wean — *estrange, alienate, disaffect Analogous words: *separate, part, divide, sunder, sever, divorce Antonyms: addict …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • WEAN-FM — Infobox Radio Station name = WEAN FM city = Wakefield Peacedale, Rhode Island area = Providence, Rhode Island branding = News Talk 630 WPRO and 99.7 FM slogan = Rhode Island s Station of Record airdate = June 1995 frequency = 99.7 MHz (FM)… …   Wikipedia

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