/speɪn/
OriginFrom Middle English spanen, probably from Middle Dutch spanen, spenen or Middle Low German spānen, spēnen, spōnen (“to wean”), ultimately from the merger of Proto-West Germanic *spanōn and *spannjan, from Proto-Germanic *spanōną and *spanjaną (“to wean”), from Proto-Germanic *spanō, *spenô (“teat”), from Proto-Indo-European *pstḗn (“breast; teat”). Cognate with Dutch spenen (“to wean”), German spänen (“to wean”), Old French espanir (“to wean”) (from Germanic).
- UK, dialectal, obsoleteTo wean; to spean.
“to spane a child”
“For quotations using this term, see Citations:spane.”
Formsspanes(present, singular, third-person) · spaning(participle, present) · spaned(participle, past) · spaned(past) · spean(alternative) · spain(alternative)