Meanings
weening1
plural weenings
- countableuncountablePresumption, imagination, supposition.
[…] and if I get a scanty living in the way I do, it is because the credulity of the people require such practices to satisfy their weenings — they wish to know all sorts of things, […]
1860, R.R.B., The Upland Hall, page 54
weening2
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of ween
Origin
weening · noun
- Old Englishwēning“supposition, doubt, doubtful thought”
- Middle Englishwening“supposition, opinion, presumption, doubt”
- Englishweening
From Middle English wening (“supposition, opinion, presumption, doubt”), from Old English wēning (“supposition, doubt, doubtful thought”), equivalent to ween + -ing.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
weening. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/weening
“weening.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/weening. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “weening,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/weening.
Source: weening on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.