wee English · revision 15335

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1300|origins=ine-pro *weǵʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /wiː/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|wei|t=a small amount]], from the phrase a littel wei,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) [[inh|ang|wǣġe|t=weight]] (Anglian [[m|ang|wēġe]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) related to [[m|ang|wegan|t=to weigh]] (see [[weigh]] and [[wey]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) from [[ine-pro|*weǵʰ-|t=to go, move, transport]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) originally a Scots and northern use.^(NODE 1998)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective, extremely small, is from before 1449 in Barnhart, about 1450 in the OED,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) and was current in southern England from about 1600.^(Hoad 1986) It seems to have arisen from phrases like ''a little wee thing'', a small amount of a thing, like ''a bit thing''.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The spelling wee is first recorded in 1598,^(Barnhart 1988) and ''wee bit'' was not common before the 19th century.^(Barnhart 1988) A short time, as in Scots ''bide a wee'', is from before 1300.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1300 – a little wee, a small thing.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – wee, tiny (adjective).^(OED 1989)

+ * 1598 – the spelling wee.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1600 – current in southern England.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Very small; [[tiny]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very early: ''the wee hours''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(chiefly Scottish)'' A short time or a little bit: ''bide a wee''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[weigh]]

+ * [[weight]]

+ * [[wey]]

+ * [[teeny]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different wee, the squeal of a pig, is imitative, from 1842,^(Etymonline) and the childish wee or wee-wee, urine or to urinate, is from 1968 in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(MWU 2024) Wee in its main sense is in general dialect use in Scotland, Ireland and the north of England.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}