English

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Etymology

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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,[1] Ancient Greek ἀμνός (amnós),[2] Old Irish úan (lamb).[1] See also ean.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːn

Verb

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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

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References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 “Etymology in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name)[1], 2008 October 27 (last accessed), archived from the original on 19 June 2010
  2. ^ Etymology in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary

Anagrams

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