yean

From Middle English *yenen, *ȝenen, eanen, from Old English *ġeēanian, ēanian (“to yean, bring forth young (usually lambs), bring forth as a ewe”) (for the prefixed form, compare Old English ġeēan, ġeēane (“yeaning”, adjective)), from Proto-Germanic *gaaunōną, *aunōną (“to yean, lamb”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷnós (“lamb”). Cognate with Scots yean (“to yean”), Saterland Frisian bejänne (“to produce; show signs of calving”), West Frisian antsje, eandsje, inje (“to yean”), Dutch onen (“to yean”), Swedish öna (“to yean”, dialectal). Akin also to Latin agnus[1], Ancient Greek ἀμνός (amnós)[2], Old Irish úan (“lamb”), and to English ewe[1]. See also ean.

yean (third-person singular simple present yeans, present participle yeaning, simple past and past participle yeaned)

1. (transitive, archaic, of goats or sheep) To give birth to.

• For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:yean.

• Enya, ayen