v.
Pronunciation: ' w ē n
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 wean ed 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 ⋯ , wean ing them from habits of violence ― Geoffrey Carnall>
3 : to accustom to something from an early age ― used in the passive especially with on <students wean ed on the Internet for research> <I was wean ed on greasepaint ― Helen Hayes> <the principles upon which he had been wean ed ― J. A. Michener>