Etymologically
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pee

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Pronunciation

Etymology

It is a euphemism based on the first letter of piss,[2][3][4][5] or a nursery word, compare French faire pipi.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To wet with urine: 1788 in Etymonline and in Green's first quotation, from a poem by Picken.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

To urinate is from 1879 in Etymonline.[2] The noun, an act of urination, is attested by 1902,[2][8] and urine by 1961 in Etymonline,[2] though Green quotes an American folksong of about 1864.[7] The reduplicated pee-pee is attested by 1923.[2] In 1970s American slang, pee was also pure heroin.[7]

Timeline

  • 1788 – to pee (verb).[2][7]
  • c. 1864 – urine (noun).[7]
  • 1879 – to urinate.[2]
  • 1902 – an act of urinating.[2][8]
  • 1923 – pee-pee.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. (informal) To urinate.

Noun

  1. (informal) Urine.
  2. (informal) An act of urinating.

Usage notes

Pee is also the name of the letter p.[9]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  8. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin