spane

S1P3A1N1E1
/speɪn/

verb

To wean; to spean.

“to spane a child”

OriginMiddle English spanen ← Middle Dutch spanen ← Middle Low German spānen →
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Meanings

verbspane (third-person singular simple present spanes, present participle spaning, simple past and past participle spaned)

present singular third person spanes · participle present spaning · participle past spaned · past spaned · alternative spean · alternative spain

  1. UKdialectalobsoleteTo wean; to spean.

    to spane a child

    1 more example

    For quotations using this term, see Citations:spane.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pstḗn“breast; teat”
  2. Proto-Germanic*spanō
  3. Proto-Germanic*spanōną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*spanōn
  5. Middle Low Germanspānen
  6. Middle Dutchspanen
  7. Middle Englishspanen
  8. Englishspane

From 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).

More words from Middle English, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

aspensnapepanesspeansneap
Cite this entry
APA

spane. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spane

MLA

“spane.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spane. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spane,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spane.

Source: spane on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.