Wean

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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[aum]nja, Dan. v[ae]nne, Icel. vanr accustomed, wont; cf.
     AS. [=a]wenian to wean, G. entw["o]hnen. See {Wont}, a.]
     [1913 Webster]


     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made
              a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
                                                    --Gen. xxi. 8.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The troubles of age were intended . . . to wean us
              gradually from our fondness of life.  --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wean \Wean\, n.
     A weanling; a young child.
     [1913 Webster]
  
           I, being but a yearling wean.            --Mrs.
                                                    Browning.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  wean
       v 1: gradually deprive (infants) of mother's milk; "she weaned
            her baby when he was 3 months old and started him on
            powdered milk" [syn: {ablactate}]
       2: detach the affections of

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  37 Moby Thesaurus words for "wean":
     alien, alienate, blunt, break of, bring over, chill, convince,
     cool, cure, damp, dampen, deflect, deter, disaccustom, disaffect,
     discourage, disincline, disinterest, distract, disunify, disunite,
     divert, evangelize, indispose, persuade, proselyte, proselytize,
     put off, quench, repel, stop, turn aside, turn away, turn from,
     turn off, wean from, win over
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Wean
     Among the Hebrews children (whom it was customary for the
     mothers to nurse, Ex. 2:7-9; 1 Sam. 1:23; Cant. 8:1) were not
     generally weaned till they were three or four years old.