Definition

1. Noun:
   • A newly weaned child or animal: "weanling" refers to a young child or animal that has recently been taken off its mother's milk and has begun to eat solid food.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The farmer separated the weanling from the sow to begin feeding it grain. (A young pig that has just stopped nursing.)
  • A weanling needs careful nutrition to adjust to a diet of solid food. (A newly weaned baby or young animal.)

Advanced Usage

• "weanling pig": a young pig that has been recently weaned.

  • The weanling pigs were moved to a separate pen for feeding. (The newly weaned young pigs.)

• "weanling period": the stage of development just after weaning.

  • During the weanling period, growth rates must be closely monitored. (The time right after an animal or child stops nursing.)

Variants and Related Words

• Wean (verb): to accustom a child or young animal to food other than its mother's milk.

  • The mother began to wean her baby at six months. (To gradually stop breastfeeding.)

• Weaning (noun): the process of introducing a child or animal to new food.

  • Weaning is a critical stage in development. (The act of transitioning from milk to solid food.)

Synonyms

• Neonate: a newborn child or animal (though this term is broader and includes very young infants).
• Nursling: a baby or young animal that is still nursing (the opposite of a weanling).

Related Idioms

• No common idioms specifically use "weanling," but the concept appears in:
  • "To wean someone off something": to gradually cause someone to stop a habit or dependency.

    • The doctor helped him wean off the medication. (To reduce dependency gradually.)