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wean

   Also found in: Medical, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
wean  (wn)
tr.v. weaned, wean·ing, weans
1. To accustom (the young of a mammal) to take nourishment other than by suckling.
2. To detach from that to which one is strongly habituated or devoted: She weaned herself from cigarettes.
3. To accustom to something from an early age. Often used with on: "The northerners among the refugees ... were weaned on harsh weather and infertile soils and are known for their rigorous work ethic" Lowell Weiss.

[Middle English wenen, from Old English wenian; see wen-1 in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: In recent years weaned on has come to be widely used in the sense "raised on," as in Moviegoers weaned on the Star Trek TV series will doubtless find the film to their liking. A few critics have objected to this usage on the grounds that wean refers literally to a detachment from a source of nourishment. But the process of weaning involves a substitution of some other form of nourishment for mother's milk; thus it is sometimes said that a child is weaned onto or on sugar water. Hence a sentence like Paul was weaned on folk music may suggest metaphorically that Paul's exposure to folk music began from the time he stopped nursing, that is, from a very early age.

wean
Verb
1. to start giving (a baby or young mammal) food other than its mother's milk
2. to cause (oneself or someone else) to give up a former habit: they are unable to wean themselves from the tobacco habit [Old English wenian to accustom]
weaning n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.weanwean - gradually deprive (infants and young mammals) of mother's milk; "she weaned her baby when he was 3 months old and started him on powdered milk"; "The kitten was weaned and fed by its owner with a bottle"
deprive - keep from having, keeping, or obtaining
2.wean - detach the affections of
alienate, disaffect, estrange, alien - arouse hostility or indifference in where there had formerly been love, affection, or friendliness; "She alienated her friends when she became fanatically religious"
Translations

wean [wiːn] vtdestetar
wean [wiːn] vtsevrer
wean [wiːn] vt (also fig) → entwöhnen
wean [wiːn] vtsvezzare

wean
v wean [wiːn]
to cause (a child or young animal) to become used to food other than the mother's milk The baby has been weaned (on to solid foods). speen يَفْطُم отбивам кърмаче odstavit vænne fra entwöhnen αποκόβω από το θηλασμό destetar (emapiimast) võõrutama از شير گرفتن vieroittaa sevrer לִגמוֹל दूध छुड़ाना odbiti od sise elválaszt berhenti menyusu, menyapih venja af brjósti svezzare 離乳させる ...의 젖을 떼다, ...을 이유시키다 atpratinti, nujunkyti atšķirt (bērnu) no krūts; atšķirt (dzīvnieka mazuli) no mātes cerai susu spenen avvenne (fra brystet) odstawić od piersi desmamar a înţărca отнимать от груди odstaviť odstaviti od prsi odvikavati od sisanja avvänja ให้ทารกกินอาหารอย่างอื่นแทนนมแม่ memeden/sütten kesmek 使斷奶 відривати від грудей دودھ چھڑانا cai sữa 使


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
And disengaging a couple of chairs from the artistical lumber that usurped them, she bid us be seated, and resumed her place beside the easel - not facing it exactly, but now and then glancing at the picture upon it while she conversed, and giving it an occasional touch with her brush, as if she found it impossible to wean her attention entirely from her occupation to fix it upon her guests.
The first of those sorrows which are sent to wean us from the earth had visited her, and its dimming influence quenched her dearest smiles.
And though I have sometimes endeavoured to convince actors that they are mistaken in this notion they have adopted, and that they would attract more people, and get more credit, by producing plays in accordance with the rules of art, than by absurd ones, they are so thoroughly wedded to their own opinion that no argument or evidence can wean them from it.
 
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