wean Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother's milk
    ablactate.
    • she weaned her baby when he was 3 months old and started him on powdered milk
    • The kitten was weaned and fed by its owner with a bottle
  2. verb detach the affections of

WordNet

Wean transitive verb
Etymology
OE. wenen, AS. wenian, wennan, to accustom; akin to D. wennen, G. gewöhnen, OHG. giwennan, Icel. venja, Sw. vänja, Dan. vænne, Icel. vanr accustomed, wont; cf. AS. awenian to wean, G. entwöhnen. See Wont, a.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Weaned ; present participle & verbal noun Weaning
Definitions
  1. To accustom and reconcile, as a child or other young animal, to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder; to cause to cease to depend on the mother nourishment.
    And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. Gen. xxi. 8.
  2. Hence, to detach or alienate the affections of, from any object of desire; to reconcile to the want or loss of anything. "Wean them from themselves." Shak.
    The troubles of age were intended . . . to wean us gradually from our fondness of life. Swift.
Wean noun
Definitions
  1. A weanling; a young child.
    I, being but a yearling wean. Mrs. Browning.

Webster 1913