ween

verb

ˈwēn 

weened; weening; weens

transitive verb

archaic

: to hold as an opinion : suppose, believe

Little did he ween that these wretched rags he now wore, were but suitable to that long career of destitution before him …

—Herman Melville

Since primal Man was fashioned / To people ice and stones, / No pair, I ween, had ever been / Such chums as I and JONES.

—P. G. Wodehouse

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wenen, from Old English wēnan; akin to Old Norse væna to hope and probably to Latin venus love, charm — more at win

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above