Wean

wean
    v 1: 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" [syn: {wean}, {ablactate}]
    2: detach the affections of
    

Wean \Wean\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Weaned}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Weaning}.] [OE. wenen, AS. wenian, wennan, to accustom; akin
   to D. wennen, G. gew["o]hnen, OHG. giwennan, Icel. venja, Sw.
   v[aum]nja, Dan. v[ae]nne, Icel. vanr accustomed, wont; cf.
   AS. [=a]wenian to wean, G. entw["o]hnen. See {Wont}, a.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To accustom and reconcile, as a child or other young
      animal, to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take
      from the breast or udder; to cause to cease to depend on
      the mother nourishment.
      [1913 Webster]

            And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made
            a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
                                                  --Gen. xxi. 8.
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   2. Hence, to detach or alienate the affections of, from any
      object of desire; to reconcile to the want or loss of
      anything. "Wean them from themselves." --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

            The troubles of age were intended . . . to wean us
            gradually from our fondness of life.  --Swift.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Wean \Wean\, n.
   A weanling; a young child.
   [1913 Webster]

         I, being but a yearling wean.            --Mrs.
                                                  Browning.
   [1913 Webster]
    

Wean
Among the Hebrews children (whom it was customary for the
mothers to nurse, Ex. 2:7-9; 1 Sam. 1:23; Cant. 8:1) were not
generally weaned till they were three or four years old.
    

37 Moby Thesaurus words for "wean":
      alien, alienate, blunt, break of, bring over, chill, convince,
      cool, cure, damp, dampen, deflect, deter, disaccustom, disaffect,
      discourage, disincline, disinterest, distract, disunify, disunite,
      divert, evangelize, indispose, persuade, proselyte, proselytize,
      put off, quench, repel, stop, turn aside, turn away, turn from,
      turn off, wean from, win over