Where does “preweaning” come from?
preweaning (English) comes from English weaning, from English wean, from Middle English wenen, from Old English wēnan, from Proto-Germanic wēnijaną, from Proto-Germanic -janą, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé- — he, she.
preweaning (English): Before weaning
Ancestry of “preweaning”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | weaning | present participle of wean; The process of a... |
| 2 | English | wean | To cease giving milk to an offspring; to accustom... |
| 3 | Middle English | wenen | — |
| 4 | Old English | wēnan | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | wēnijaną | to hope, to expect; to believe, to imagine |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -janą | Derives denominatives from nouns and factitives... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |