yean

American  

[yeen] / yin /

verb (used without object)

1. (of a sheep or goat) to bring forth young.

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yean British  

/ jiːn /

verb

1. (of a sheep or goat) to give birth to (offspring)

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Usage

What else does yean mean? Yean was once a verb for when a sheep or goat gives birth to a lamb or kid. That sense of yean, first recorded around 1375–1425, is now obsolete. Today, yean is a pronunciation spelling—like wanna or finna—of the phrase you ain’t even in Black English, especially in the South. Yean heard about yean?!What are some other words related to yean?finnatrynaissaelisioncontractionreduction

Etymology

Origin of yean

1375–1425; late Middle English yenen, probably continuing Old English *geēanian to bring forth young, equivalent to ge- y- + ēanian to yean, akin to Latin agnus, Greek ámnos lamb

Example Sentences

Today he recognize people by their voices, and can readily identify a voice he has not heard for yean Once at a party he was asked to accompany Violinist Nathan Milstein.

From Time Magazine Archive

In a few yean he would be inventing Civil Law.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

And when Frank got engaged the following yean he built a house on Emma’s property so that Bernard could see his grandmother every day as ever.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

By the end of that yean he decided that he would make a detailed study of all the barnacles he could get his hands on.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

The driest and best sheltered fields should be set apart for them, and turnips, when forming part of their food, should, when they are about to yean, always be carted to their pasture.

From A Treatise on Sheep: The Best Means for their Improvement, General Management, and the Treatment of their Diseases. by Blacklock, Ambrose