yean

yean — verb

  • yeanpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • yeans3rd person singular
  • yeaning-ing form
  • yeanedpast simple

1. if a female sheep or goat yeans, it gives birth to its young; the word is used m

1.動詞及物 / 不及物C2
釋義

if a female sheep or goat yeans, it gives birth to its young; the word is used mainly in older farming or literary writing.

例句

The old ewe yeaned a healthy lamb just before dawn.

subject: ewe; object: lamb

The farmer stayed up all night watching the goats yean.

intransitive use: watch + animal + infinitive

同義詞
  • lamb

    used specifically for sheep giving birth; far more common than yean in modern farming

  • kid

    used specifically for goats giving birth; also more common than yean today

  • give birth

    the neutral, everyday verb for any animal or human; always correct and never archaic

文法句型

yean + (object: lamb/kid)

subject (ewe/doe/goat) + yean

用法筆記

Virtually never used in modern everyday conversation. Learners may encounter it in historical fiction, older poetry, or dialect writing. For modern contexts, use give birth or lamb / kid (verb).

常見錯誤

My sister yeaned a baby boy.
My sister gave birth to a baby boy.
💡yean is only used for sheep and goats, never for humans.
The cow yeaned a calf.
The cow calved.
💡yean is restricted to sheep and goats, not cattle.