a) A childish description of Urine. (see also Wee Wee)

b) Scottish slang for small.

Example usage: "The wee girl needs a wee."

Lets give this word its true definition here, no shirking about.

Ok, "small", yes it does mean that, but only in certain specific circumstances. Take the following examples:

"I'll have a wee whisky" - Make mine a double and no, don't put any bloody ice in it. And since it's you that's paying make it a decent one, off the top shelf.
"I'm a wee bit concerned about our current progress on this project" - following the resignation of the entire programming team, the only decent manager we have in the company and the cleaning lady we are up shit creak without a paddle. There is no way in hell it's going to get done by the deadline and you may as well sell your stock options now.
"I'll get out of bed in a wee bit" - The bed is warm, it's 20 below outside and there is no way you are going to get me to move.
"I'm just nipping out for a wee pack of cigarettes, back soon" - It was nice knowing you, take good care of our children and I'll see you in 15 years.
"It's a wee bit chilly out today" - small children can be seen frozen like popsicles on the street, there has been no running water for the last 5 days due to the extremity of the temperature and I just lost the big toe on my right foot to frost-bite.

Although of course, "A wee wee" is still just a little bit of piss.

A wee writeup

The two main languages in my family are Polish and Russian, both of which are big on diminutives. Thanks to obscenely rich inflection almost any noun can be modified and the resulting diminutive does not only suggest small size but can be affectionate, humorous, patronising, disparaging or sarcastic. Just to give you one example: Polish wpis "writeup" can become wpisik "a wee writeup" and it will depend on the context which of the above qualities is conveyed.

Funnily enough, the teeny weeny Scots adjective "wee" seems to do the trick just as nicely. You can stick it in front of almost any noun and its meaning has much more to it than just "the quality of being small". As can be attested by anyone who has ever been called a wee gem and/or a wee shite.

Wee (?), n. [OE. we a bit, in a little we, probably originally meaning, a little way, the word we for wei being later taken as synonymous with little. See Way.]

A little; a bit, as of space, time, or distance.

[Obs. or Scot.]

 

© Webster 1913.


Wee, a.

Very small; little.

[Colloq. & Scot.]

A little wee face, with a little yellow beard. Shak.

 

© Webster 1913.

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