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 nursing
2 : 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>