yean
/jiːn/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.84 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
Etymology
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-West Germanic *gaaunōn, *aunōn (“to yean, lamb”), from *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, Ancient Greek ἀμνός (amnós), Old Irish úan (“lamb”). See also ean.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *yenen, *ġeēanian, *gaaunōn, *h₂egʷnós