spean

spean · noun¹

1. Dutch · borrowed fromspeen“nipple, teat”
2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*pstḗn“breast; teat”
3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*spenô“nipple”
4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*spanu
5. Old English · inherited fromspane
6. Middle English · inherited from*spene
7. English todayspean

From Middle English *spene, *spane, from Old English spane, spanu (“teat”), from Proto-West Germanic *spanu, *spenu, from Proto-Germanic *spenô (“nipple”), from Proto-Indo-European *pstḗn (“breast; teat”). Cognate with West Frisian spien (“nipple”), Dutch speen (“nipple”), Danish spene (“teat”), Swedish spene (“teat, nipple, dug”), Icelandic speni (“teat”). Alternatively a borrowing from Dutch speen (“nipple, teat”), from the same Proto-Germanic origin as above.

spean · verb²

1. Middle English · inherited fromspanen“to wean”
2. English todayspean

From Middle English spanen (“to wean”); see spane.

Words from the same roots