Main Entry:

wean

Pronunciation:

\ˈwēn\

Function:

transitive verb

Etymology:

Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian to accustom, wean; akin to Old English wunian to be used to — more at wont

Date:

before 12th century

1: to accustom (as a young child or animal) to take food otherwise than by nursing2: to detach from a source of dependence <being weaned off the medication> <wean the bears from human food — Sports Illus.> ; also : to free from a usually unwholesome habit or interest <wean him off his excessive drinking> <settling his soldiers on the land… , weaning them from habits of violence — Geoffrey Carnall>3: to accustom to something from an early age —used in the passive especially with on<students weaned on the Internet for research><I was weaned on greasepaint — Helen Hayes><the principles upon which he had been weaned — J. A. Michener>