yean

English

Etymology

From Middle English *yenen, ȝenen, eanen, from Old English *ġeēanian, ēanian (“to yean, bring forth young (usually lambs), bring forth as a ewe”) (for the prefixed form, compare Old English ġeēan, ġeēane (“yeaning”, adjective)), from Proto-West Germanic *gaaunōn, *aunōn (“to yean, lamb”), from *aunōną (“to yean, lamb”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷnós (“lamb”).

Cognate with Scots yean (“to yean”), Saterland Frisian bejänne (“to produce; show signs of calving”), West Frisian antsje, eandsje, inje (“to yean”), Dutch onen (“to yean”), Swedish öna (“to yean”, dialectal). Akin also to Latin agnus, Ancient Greek ἀμνός (amnós), Old Irish úan (“lamb”). See also ean.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːn

Verb

yean (third-person singular simple present yeans, present participle yeaning, simple past and past participle yeaned)

1. (transitive, archaic, of goats or sheep) To give birth to.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:yean.

Anagrams

• Enya, ayen