Meanings
spean1
plural speans · alternative Scotland spane · alternative Kent spene · alternative Kent speen · alternative obsolete spaine · alternative obsolete speane
- archaicdialectalA teat or nipple of a cow.
The Genital part is all nervy; the Tail ſmall; and the Hind hath Udders betwixt her Thighs, with four Speans or Tets, like a Cow.
[1780?], Nicholas Coxe, The Huntſman. Containing the Best Methods of Sport, for Courſing with Greyhounds, and Hunting All Kinds of Chases in England, […] , London: J. Dixwell, page 50
spean2
present singular third person speans · participle present speaning · participle past speaned · past speaned · alternative Scotland spane · alternative Kent spene · alternative Kent speen · alternative obsolete spaine · alternative obsolete speane
- archaicArchaic form of spane.
1899, Colville, Vernacular, page 15, Beginning life as a grice, the pig when speaned became a shot.
Spean3
Origin
spean · noun
- Dutchspeen“nipple, teat”
- Proto-Indo-European*pstḗn“breast; teat”
- Proto-Germanic*spenô“nipple”
- Proto-West Germanic*spanu
- Old Englishspane
- Middle English*spene
- Englishspean
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →spean · verb
- Middle Englishspanen“to wean”
- Englishspean
From Middle English spanen (“to wean”); see spane.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with spean
Anagrams
Cite this entry
spean. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spean
“spean.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spean. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spean,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spean.
Source: spean on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.