Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To bear young. Used of sheep and goats.
  • intransitive verb To give birth to (young); bear. Used of sheep and goats.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To bring forth young, as a goat or sheep; lamb.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • verb To bring forth young, as a goat or a sheep; to ean.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive, obsolete, of goats or sheep To give birth to.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English iyenen, yenen, from Old English *geēanian : ge-, verb pref.; see kom in Indo-European roots + ēanian, to bear young.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English *yenen, *ȝenen, eanen, from Old English *ġeēanian, ēanian ("to yean, bring forth young (usually lambs), bring forth as a ewe") (for the prefixed form, compare Old English ġeēane ("yeaning")), from Proto-Germanic *gaaunōnan, *aunōnan (“to yean, lamb”), from Proto-Indo-European *agʷn- (“lamb”). Cognate with Scots yean ("to yean"), West Frisian eandsje, inje ("to yean"), Dutch onen ("to yean"), Swedish dialectal öna ("to yean"). Akin also to Latin agnus, Greek ἀμνός (amnos), Old Irish úan ("lamb"), and to ewe. See also ean.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word yean.

Examples

  • Each participant must donate 100 yean equal to 3 US dollars to prove his will.

    NY Sun: Good article on Shih, Lin, and Political Assaults on President Chen Michael Turton 2006

  • Parents of chronic underachievers are also likely to link large rewards to unrealistic improvements in performance, such as straight As for a child who has been making Ds and Fs for the last two yean.

    The Unmotivated Child Ph.D Natalie Rathvon 1996

  • Parents of chronic underachievers are also likely to link large rewards to unrealistic improvements in performance, such as straight As for a child who has been making Ds and Fs for the last two yean.

    The Unmotivated Child Ph.D Natalie Rathvon 1996

  • There was speculation he'd be quickly assigned as PPS to the Foreign Secretary and even more speculation that he'd be Prime Minister within fifteen yean.

    In the Presence of the Enemy George, Elizabeth 1996

  • Parents of chronic underachievers are also likely to link large rewards to unrealistic improvements in performance, such as straight As for a child who has been making Ds and Fs for the last two yean.

    The Unmotivated Child Ph.D Natalie Rathvon 1996

  • I know I haven't been very nice the past few yean.

    Once An Angel Medeiros, Teresa, 1962- 1993

  • In Montgomery he suffered many regrets, not because of his treatment there, but because he felt it was indecent for him to live on his pension and stock from American Petroleum when he had failed them so signally: 'They hired me to help them maintain good relations with the Mexican government, and I had to sit by in impotence when CArdenas stole our entire operation and hundreds of yean of oil reserves.

    Mexico Michener, James 1992

  • This man died over two thousand yean ago, Nicole thought to herself, remembering her history.

    Rama Revisited Clarke, Arthur C. 1989

  • But we would like it also to be understood that our Soviet nation too is young, in terms of the yean since the yoke of Csarist oppression and injustice was thrown aside.

    Northlight Hall, Adam, 1920- 1985

  • He was swaggering, they told me, about the town in his old regimentals, every pomp of the foreign soldier assumed again as if they had never been relaxed in all those yean of peace and commerce.

    John Splendid The Tale of a Poor Gentleman, and the Little Wars of Lorn Neil Munro

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.