Etymograph

English

wean

Wean comes from Old English wenian ‘to accustom’, from Proto-Germanic *wanjaną ‘to make wont’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive for’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-1‘to strive for’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanjaną1‘to make wont’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wannjan1‘to accustom’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wenian1‘to accustom’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wenen1
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588wean1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English wean
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “For they are friends that help to weane my…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wenh₁-Wiktionary, English wean‘to strive for’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanjanąWiktionary, English wean‘to make wont’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wannjanWiktionary, English wean‘to accustom’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150wenianWiktionary, English wean‘to accustom’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wenenWiktionary, English wean
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1587–1588weanWiktionary, English wean. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1587–1588, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […]: “For they are friends that help to weane my…”

The story

Related via PIE to wone, wont, and wonder, and perhaps win.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- ‘to strive for’

win, won, wish, wonder, wont, venom, venerable, wynn, wen, winsome, venereal, venerate, 18 more

through Middle English wenen

ween

Another origin of wean

  1. Scotsc. 1450–presentwean‘child’literally ‘wee one’
  2. Englishtodaywean

Borrowed from Scots wean (literally “wee one”).

Today it means

verb To cease giving breast milk to an offspring; to accustom and reconcile (a child or young animal) to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “wean”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- / wean

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