wee

Pronunciation

• IPA: /wiː/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English wei (“a small amount”), from the phrase a littel wei,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English wǣġe (“weight”) (Anglian wēġe),^[3][2][4] related to wegan (“to weigh”) (see weigh and wey),^[3][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to go, move, transport”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, a small amount or thing, in a little wei: before 1300 in the OED, before 1325 in Cursor Mundi in Barnhart, about 1300 in Etymonline,^[6][3][2] originally a Scots and northern use.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective, extremely small, is from before 1449 in Barnhart, about 1450 in the OED,^[3][6] and was current in southern England from about 1600.^[4] It seems to have arisen from phrases like a little wee thing, a small amount of a thing, like a bit thing.^[4][2] The spelling wee is first recorded in 1598,^[3] and wee bit was not common before the 19th century.^[3] A short time, as in Scots bide a wee, is from before 1300.^[6][7]

Timeline

• before 1300 – a little wee, a small thing.^[6]
• c. 1450 – wee, tiny (adjective).^[6]
• 1598 – the spelling wee.^[3]
• c. 1600 – current in southern England.^[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Very small; tiny.
2. Very early: the wee hours.

Noun

1. (chiefly Scottish) A short time or a little bit: bide a wee.

Related words

• weigh
• weight
• wey
• teeny

Usage notes

A different wee, the squeal of a pig, is imitative, from 1842,^[2] and the childish wee or wee-wee, urine or to urinate, is from 1968 in the OED.^[6][8] Wee in its main sense is in general dialect use in Scotland, Ireland and the north of England.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)