ween

W4E1E1N1
/ˈwiːn/[ˈwɪi̯n]

noun

Doubt; conjecture.

“The boy's mother weened day and night.”

OriginMiddle English wene ← Old English wēn ← Proto-West Germanic *wāni →
Less commonScrabble 7
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Meanings

ween1

nounween (plural weens)

plural weens

  1. obsoleteDoubt; conjecture.

ween2

verbween (third-person singular simple present weens, present participle weening, simple past weened or (obsolete) wende or (obsolete) wente, past participle weened or (obsolete) wende or (obsolete) wente or (obsolete) wend or (obsolete) went)

present singular third person weens · participle present weening · past weened · obsolete past wende · obsolete past wente · participle past weened · obsolete participle past wende · obsolete participle past wente · obsolete participle past wend · obsolete participle past went

  1. archaicTo suppose, imagine; to think, believe.

    Wise men in old time would ween themselves fools; Fools now in new time will ween themselves wise.

    1562, John Heywood, The proverbs, epigrams, and miscellanies of John Heywood
    5 more examples

    And when they will fight they will shock them together in a plump; that if there be 20000 men, men shall not ween that there be scant 10000.

    1481, Author unknown (pseudonym Sir John Mandeville), The travels of Sir John Mandeville

    And right as Arthur was on horseback there came a damosel from Morgan le Fay, and brought unto Sir Arthur a sword like unto Excalibur, and the scabbard, and said unto Arthur, Morgan le Fay sendeth here your sword for great love. And he thanked her, and weened it had been so, but she was false, for the sword and the scabbard were counterfeit, and brittle, and false.

    Then sayde Peter unto hym: Perissh thou and thy money togedder. For thou wenest that the gyfte of god maye be obteyned with money?

    1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts

    … for I ween he will no longer suffer him to abide among the adulterous and wicked Generation of this World.

    1677, Thomas Mall, A cloud of witnesses

    But neither heat, nor frost, nor thunder, Shall wholly do away, I ween, The marks of that which once hath been.

    1816, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “(please specify the page)”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], →OCLC
  2. datedTo expect, hope or wish.

ween3

verbween (third-person singular simple present weens, present participle weening, simple past and past participle weened)

present singular third person weens · participle present weening · participle past weened · past weened

  1. Northern EnglandScotlandrareTo weep or cry.

    The boy's mother weened day and night.

  2. obsoleteTo lament.

ween4

verb
  1. misspellingMisspelling of wean.

ween5

nounween (plural weens)

plural weens

  1. slangwiener dog, dachshund

ween6

nounween (plural weens)

plural weens

  1. slangpenis

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
imaginesuppose

Origin

ween · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wenh₁-“to strive, love, want, reach, win”
  2. Proto-Germanic*wēniz
  3. Proto-West Germanic*wāni
  4. Old Englishwēn
  5. Middle Englishwene
  6. Englishween

From Middle English wene, from Old English wēn, wēna (“hope, weening, expectation”), from Proto-West Germanic *wāni, from Proto-Germanic *wēniz, *wēnǭ (“hope, expectation”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, love, want, reach, win”). Cognate with Dutch waan (“delusion”), Afrikaans waan (“delusion”), German Wahn (“illusion, false hope”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

ween · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*wēnijaną
  2. Old Englishwēnan
  3. Middle Englishwenen
  4. Englishween

From Middle English wenen, from Old English wēnan, from Proto-Germanic *wēnijaną. Cognate with Dutch wanen, German wähnen.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

ween · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*wainōną“to cry, lament, grieve”
  2. Old Englishwānian“to bewail, lament”
  3. Middle Englishweinen“to wail, lament”
  4. Englishween

From Middle English weinen (“to wail, lament”), from Old English wānian (“to bewail, lament”), from Proto-Germanic *wainōną (“to cry, lament, grieve”). Cognate with Dutch wenen (“to weep, cry”), German weinen (“to weep, cry”), Icelandic veina (“to wail, cry out”), West Frisian weine (“to weep, cry”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

ween · noun

Abbreviation of wiener dog

Full word history & related roots →

ween · noun

Abbreviation of wiener (penis)

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ween

beenbetweengreenmagazinemeanseenscreenmachinecleangenescenedeanjeanroutineHalloweenbeancuisinevaccineEugeneChristineleanfifteengasolinekeen
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

weanweanweanweanweanwean

Anagrams

Ewenenew
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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