wean

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“
I heard the c.p. in America in the 1930s and am under the distinct impression that it was borrowed from an older vaudeville routine satirizing French over-politeness.

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (4)

  1. transitive verb To accustom (the young of a mammal) to take nourishment other than by suckling.
  2. transitive verb To detach from that to which one is strongly habituated or devoted: She weaned herself from cigarettes.
  3. transitive verb To accustom to something from an early age. Often used with on: "The northerners among the refugees ... were weaned on harsh weather and infertile soils and are known for their rigorous work ethic” (Lowell Weiss).
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Examples

  • I heard the c.p. in America in the 1930s and am under the distinct impression that it was borrowed from an older vaudeville routine satirizing French over-politeness. —  VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol IV No 3
  • "She's suckling a wean, and dyin" o" thirst in the doin" of it. —  Drums of Autumn
  • The wean was white-skinned as Claire, but with the sickly blue-white cast of skimmed milk, not Claire's pale glow, rich and grainless as the silk-white heartwood of a poplar tree. —  Drums of Autumn
  • "Tell her I'll be glad to christen the wean, " he said, lowering Aidan to the ground. —  A Breath of Snow and Ashes
  • 'You're like a wean needin' the lavvy. —  Boiling a Frog
 

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Wean has been looked up 217 times, favorited 0 times, listed 7 times, and commented on twice.

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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also wain; from Middle English wenen, from Anglo-Saxon wenian (ge-wenian, accustom, also wean, ā-wenian, wean) = Dutch wennen, accustom (ge-wennen, accustom, inure, af-wennen, wean), = Old High German wenjan, wennen, wenen, Middle High German wenen, accustom (Old High German Middle High German ge-wenen, German ge-wöhnen, accustom, Old High German int-wennan, Middle High German entwenen, German entwöhnen, disaccustom, wean), = Icelandic venja = Swedish vänja = Danish vænne = Goth, wanjan, accustom; connected with Old High German giwona, Middle High German gewona = Icelandic vani = Swedish vana = Danish vane, custom, from an adjective seen in Old High German giwon, Middle High German gewon, G. *gewohn (in gewohnheit, custom), gewohnt = Icelandic vanr = Swedish van, vana = Danish vant, accustomed: connected with wone, wont, q. v.
  2. from wean, v.
 

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