What is "weaning"

Wean \Wean\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Weaned; p. pr. & vb. n. Weaning.] [OE. wenen, AS. wenian, wennan, to accustom; akin to D. wennen, G. gew["o]hnen, OHG. giwennan, Icel. venja, Sw. v["a]nja, Dan. v[ae]nne, Icel. vanr accustomed, wont; cf. AS.

1. To accustom and reconcile, as a child or other young animal, to a want or deprivation of mother's milk; to take from the breast or udder; to cause to cease to depend on the mother nourishment.

   And the child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
   --Gen. xxi. 8.

2. Hence, to detach or alienate the affections of, from any object of desire; to reconcile to the want or loss of anything. ``Wean them from themselves.''
   --Shak.

   The troubles of age were intended . . . to wean us gradually from our fondness of life.
   --Swift.

n. The (passive) process of a child or animal ceasing to be dependant on the mother for nourishment. vb. (present participle of wean English)

n. the act of substituting other food for the mother's milk in the diet of a child or young mammal [syn: ablactation]

Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.

The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk. The infant is considered to be fully weaned once it is no longer fed any breast milk (or bottled substitute).