ween

[ ween ]

/ win /

verb (used with or without object) Archaic.

to think; suppose.

to expect, hope, or intend.

Nearby words

weekly, weeknight, weel, weelkes, weems, ween, weenie, weeny, weeny-bopper, weep, weep buckets

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 forms

un·weened, adjective

Can be confused

wean ween

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

Examples from the Web for weened

It satisfied the part of me that grew up and was weened on SNL.
Michaela Watkins: Fired From ‘SNL’ To Hollywood’s Funniest Scene-Stealer|Kevin Fallon|March 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thou wouldst have weened it was a hammering wherewith each hair was hammered into his head, with such an uprising it rose.
The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Tin B Calnge|Unknown
She weened himself had done it, / and all unaided he, Nor wot she one far mightier / was thither come so secretly.
The Nibelungenlied|Unknown
I weened in this court had been the best knights without treachery or treason.
Le Morte D'Arthur, Volume I (of II)|Thomas Malory

She weened to save the hero, / yet wrought she nothing save his bane.
The Nibelungenlied|Unknown
I weened he spoke in jest and did but answer—If thou seest aught else, prithee show it unto me.
Paris and its Story|Thomas Okey

British Dictionary definitions for weened

ween

/ (wiːn) /

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