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wen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
wen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
wen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
wen you have here. The definition of the word
wen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
wen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Translingual
Symbol
wen
- (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-5 language code for Sorbian languages.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English wen, wenne, from Old English wenn, wænn (“wen”), from Proto-Germanic *wanjaz. Cognate with Dutch wen (“goiter”), Low German Ween (“wen”), dialectal German Wenne (“wen”), Danish van, væne.
Noun
wen (plural wens)
- A cyst on the skin; a tumor or wart.
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Country Described. ”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. , volume I, London: Benj Motte, , →OCLC, part II (A Voyage to Brobdingnag), page 220:There was a Fellow with a Wen in his Neck, larger than five Woolpacks, and another with a couple of wooden Legs, each about twenty foot high.
1854, Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Walden:When I have met an immigrant tottering under a bundle which contained his all--looking like an enormous wen which had grown out of the nape of his neck--I have pitied him, not because that was his all, but because he had all that to carry.
1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:Creeps, foreigners with tinted, oily skin, wens, sties, cysts, wheezes, bad teeth, limps, staring or—worse—with Strange Faraway Smiles.
1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest , Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 4:I am debating whether to risk scratching the right side of my jaw, where there is a wen.
Derived terms
Translations
Etymology 2
From Old English wynn.
Noun
wen (plural wens)
- Obsolete form of wynn (“the letter ƿ”).
Etymology 3
Eye dialect spelling of when.
Adverb
wen (not comparable)
- (eye dialect) Alternative spelling of when
Conjunction
wen
- (eye dialect) Alternative spelling of when
Pronoun
wen
- (eye dialect) Alternative spelling of when
Noun
wen (uncountable)
- (eye dialect) Alternative spelling of when
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch winnen, from Middle Dutch winnen, from Old Dutch winnan, from Proto-Germanic *winnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to strive, desire, wish, love”).
Pronunciation
Verb
wen (present wen, present participle wennende, past participle gewen)
- to win
Belizean Creole
Conjunction
wen
- when
References
- Crosbie, Paul, ed. (2007), Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri: English-Kriol Dictionary. Belize City: Belize Kriol Project, p. 371.
Dutch
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *hwannē. Cognate with English when, German wann.
Adverb
wen
- (archaic) when
- En ik dacht aan den geur harer bloesems, aan het huiveren harer takken, aan den zang harer vogelen; en ik vroeg mij: wen rieken wij die? (V. Someren, 1822)
- And I thought about the scent of her blossoms, at the shuddering of her branches, at the songs of her birds, and I asked myself: when do we smell these?
Conjunction
wen
- (archaic) when
- Daar heb ik wen de vogels vlogen, heimelik in elk nest geschouwd! (L. De Mont, 1880)
- There have I, when the birds flew, looked privily in each nest!
Etymology 2
Verb
wen
- inflection of wennen:
- first-person singular present indicative
- imperative
Elfdalian
Etymology
From Old Norse hvern.
Pronoun
wen
- what
German
Pronunciation
Pronoun
wen
- (interrogative) accusative of wer: whom (direct object).
Wen hast du gefragt?- Whom did you ask?
Further reading
- “wen” in Duden online
- “wen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Gothic
Romanization
wēn
- Romanization of 𐍅𐌴𐌽
Ilocano
Particle
wen
- yes
Jamaican Creole
Etymology
Derived from English when.
Pronunciation
Adverb
wen
- when
2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 23:7:Dem lov wen piipl gi dem speshal oudi wen dem go a maakit, an wen dem kaal dem, 'Tiicha'.- They love people to greet them with respect in the marketplaces, and they love to have people call them 'Teacher'.
Further reading
Japanese
Romanization
wen
- Rōmaji transcription of ゑん
Mandarin
Romanization
wen
- Nonstandard spelling of wēn.
- Nonstandard spelling of wén.
- Nonstandard spelling of wěn.
- Nonstandard spelling of wèn.
Usage notes
- Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.
Middle English
Etymology 1
Noun
wen
- Alternative form of wayn (“wagon”)
Etymology 2
Noun
wen (uncountable)
- Alternative form of wynne (“happiness”)
Etymology 3
Verb
wen
- (Northern) Alternative form of winnen (“to win”)
Old English
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *wēniz, from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“love”). Cognate with Old Frisian wen, Old Saxon wan, Old High German wān (German Wahn (“delusion”)), Old Norse ván, Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌽𐍃 (wēns).
Pronunciation
Noun
wēn f
- expectation
- likelihood
- (poetic) hope
- probability
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Octaves and Circumcision of our Lord"
Wēn is þæt eower sum nyte hwæt sy ymbsnidennys.- It is probable that some of you know not what circumcision is.
- 1000. West Saxon Gospels (John, xvii. 26). Ic him cyðde ðinne naman & gyt wylle cyþan.
Declension
Declension of wen (strong i-stem)
Descendants
Old Polish
Alternative forms
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Slavic *vъ́nъ.
Pronunciation
Adverb
wen
- outdoors, outside
- Synonyms: na dwór, procza
- Antonym: wnątrz
Derived terms
Welsh
Adjective
wen
- Soft mutation of gwen (“white (feminine)”).
Mutation