wean: [OE] The etymological notion underlying wean is of ‘becoming accustomed’. The specialization to ‘making accustomed to food other than mother’s milk’ is a secondary development. The word comes from a prehistoric Germanic *wanjan (source also of German gewöhnen ‘accustom’). This was derived from the adjective *wanaz ‘accustomed’, which in turn was formed from the base *wan-, *wen-, *wun-(source also of English winsome, wish, and wont ‘accustomed’ [OE]). => winsome, wish, wont
wean (v.)
"train (an infant or animal) to forego suckling," c. 1200, from Old English wenian "to accustom, habituate," from Proto-Germanic *wanjan (cognates: Old Norse venja, Dutch wennen, Old High German giwennan, German gewöhnen "to accustom"), from PIE *won-eyo-, from root *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for." The sense of "accustom a child to not suckling from the breast" in Old English generally was expressed by gewenian or awenian, which has a sense of "unaccustom" (compare German abgewöhnen, entwöhnen "to wean," literally "to unaccustom"). The modern word might be one of these with the prefix worn off, or it might be wenian in a specialized sense of "accustom to a new diet." Figurative extension to any pursuit or habit is from 1520s.
双语例句
1. It can be extremely difficult to wean children off junk food.
让儿童改掉吃零食的习惯有时十分困难.
来自《简明英汉词典》
2. The hospital managed to wean her off the drug.
医院已让她逐步减少依赖这种药.
来自《简明英汉词典》
3. The patch enables smokers to wean themselves off cigarettes very gradually.
这张贴片能使吸烟者很缓慢地把烟戒掉.
来自《简明英汉词典》
4. He was sent away to school to wean him from bad companions.
送他上学,以便与坏的伙伴断绝来往.
来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
5. You are given pills with small quantities of nicotine to wean you from cigarettes.