Scotland · noun
wean
A child, especially in Glasgow and west-central Scotland.
Uses your device’s built-in voice. Pronunciation is approximate because available voices and Scottish accents vary.
What wean means
Wean means a child. It is strongly associated with Glasgow and west-central Scottish speech, though it is understood more widely.
How it is used
It can refer to a baby, young child, or children collectively as the weans.
- Part of speech
- noun
- Pronunciation
- Usually /weːn/ or /wiːn/, varying by speaker
- Register
- Informal west-central Scots and Scottish English.
- Variants
- wee yin
Examples
Each example is followed by its intended plain-English meaning.
The weans are away to the park.
The children have gone to the park.
She has two wee weans.
She has two young children.
What to watch for
Wean is not simply a comic spelling of child; it is a real regional word with uneven distribution across Scotland.
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