wee
[wee]
- little; very small.
- very early: in the wee hours of the morning.
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Origin of wee
before 1150 for an earlier sense; Middle English we, variant of wei (small) quantity, Old English wēg, Anglian form of wǣge weight, akin to wegan to weigh1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for wee on Thesaurus.com1. tiny, diminutive; minuscule.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for wee
Contemporary Examples
How about baby drama with little Abijean and the Wee Baby Seamus?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISISMarlow Stern
January 8, 2015
In the wee hours of Christmas morning, a flight deal was shared in an exclusive Facebook group for urban travelers.
This was the real deal, we wee Dylanologists told ourselves, this was pure…what?
So, what were Putin and Berlusconi doing in the wee hours of Friday morning?
But this new study indicates that Weiner may be (is definitely) going a wee bit overboard.
Historical Examples
Aye, but it's that wee bit that makes all the difference, Mr. Cairnduff!
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
"I'll go downstairs now for a wee while," Mrs. MacDermott said.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
"Och, he's mebbe only a wee bit out of sorts," John answered.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
I thought at first you were having me on, but I think now you're only a wee fool.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
Sure, you have to tell a wee bit of a lie now and again, or you'd never get your way at all.
The Foolish LoversSt. John G. Ervine
wee1
- very small; tiny; minute
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- mainly Scot a short time (esp in the phrase bide a wee.)
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Word Origin
C13: from Old English wǣg weight
wee2
- the act or an instance of urinating
- urine
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- (intr) to urinate
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Also called: wee-wee
Word Origin
of unknown origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for wee
adj.
"extremely small," mid-15c., from earlier noun use in sense of "quantity, amount" (cf. a littel wei "a little thing or amount," c.1300), from Old English wæge "weight" (see weigh). Adj. use wee bit apparently developed as parallel to such forms as a bit thing "a little thing." Wee hours is attested by 1891, from Scot. wee sma' hours (1787, Burns). Wee folk "faeries" is recorded from 1819. Weeny "tiny, small" is from 1790.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper