Wean
/wiːn/noun
To accustom a child or young animal to stop feeding on milk and begin independent nourishment.
Did you know?Wean comes from an old Germanic word meaning “to accustom” or “train,” so its original power was about conditioning a life into independence, not just ending nursing.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wanōjaną
“to accustom, train, habituate”
Old English
OE
wēnian
“to accustom, habituate, make used to”
Middle English
ME
wenen
“to accustom; later, to withdraw a child from milk”
Modern English
English
wean
“to accustom someone or something to a new state, especially to stop nursing”