Yean
/jiːn/noun
To give birth, especially used of sheep and goats.
Did you know?Yean is an old pastoral verb, and its close relatives in Germanic languages point back to a root meaning “young” or “offspring,” tying birth itself to the idea of youth.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*jungaz
“young”
Old English
OE
geong
“young”
Middle English
ME
yenen
“to bring forth young; to give birth”
16th Century
English
yean
“to give birth, especially of sheep”
Modern English
English
yean
“to give birth, especially used of sheep and goats”