ween

[ween]

verb (used with or without object) Archaic.

to think; suppose.

to expect, hope, or intend.

Origin of ween

before 900; Middle English wenen, Old English wēnan to expect; cognate with German wähnen to imagine, Old Norse væna, Gothic wēnjan to hope, expect

Related formsun·weened, adjective

Can be confusedwean ween

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ween

Historical Examples of ween

Brave banqueting I ween to-night for all that goodly company.
Alroy
Benjamin Disraeli
But when Slingsby saw the water, Somewhat pale, I ween, was he.
The Bon Gaultier Ballads
William Edmonstoune Aytoun
And she that longs to see, I ween, is as desirous to be seen.
Wit and Wisdom of Don Quixote
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
The fiery scenes of the forum did not ween him from his family.
Robert Toombs
Pleasant A. Stovall
That day I write of, little did I ween what her end would be.
The Catholic World. Volume II; Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
E. Rameur

British Dictionary definitions for ween

ween

verb

archaic to think or imagine (something)

Word Origin for ween

Old English wēnan; related to Old Saxon wānian, Gothic wēnjan, German wähnen to assume wrongly

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ween

Old English wenan "to think," from Proto-Germanic *woenijanan (cf. Old Saxon wanian, Old Norse væna, Old Frisian wena, Old High German wanen, German wähnen, Gothic wenjan "to expect, suppose, think"), from *woeniz "expectation," from PIE root *wen- "to wish, desire, strive for" (see Venus). Archaic since 17c.