What is this "wee" word i see everywhere

[meditereb]

What does it mean ? Why is used for everything ?

Lordfrontpaw, I’m in Perthshire, and my kids used to call Aberdonians “Furry Boots”.
As in “Furryboots are ye from?”
For any puzzled readers in English, that’s the Doric pronunciation of “Whereabouts”!
They also call boys and girls “loons” and “quines”. It’s another world up here, isn’t it!

Call my DS wee Al! Not Scottish but he is so cute and little. It's a term of endearment in my house.

lordfrontpaw

It's likely that the accent is hard to understand but also that he may have been speaking Doric which is like a whole different language. It's lovely my fathers side spoke it. I was my faithers wee Quine.

Perhaps the OP has gone for a wee google

I may add that, working in Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital 30 years ago, I once had to get an Aberdonian nurse to translate a patient’s words into Dundonian, which I could at least sort of understand!
My Aberdonian was limited to “Fit ye deen” (“How are you doing?”)
I find accents fascinating. As a child of Geordies, raised in London and living in Scotland, I’ve had to learn a few lovely old regional words in my time.

My husband is English, so was used to hearing me say 'wee' for 'small', but hadn't heard it in a wider context.

We moved to Scotland (I'd be living away for some time) and we went to register at the local GP. The receptionist gave us forms to fill in and said 'just take a wee seat'. Husband looked around for the wee seat, but she didn't mean it that way, it was more a kind of 'take a seat for a little while.

Fit ye deen the literal translation is fit (what) (unexpressed "are") ye (you) deen (doing) so what you doing. In the same way in English you might instead of saying hello you would say what are you up to?

I love Doric it makes me feel close to my dad (who's gone now) I don't get to speak or hear it now really.

DM is English - when she first came to Scotland to meet future ILs someone offered her a 'wee sweetie' , she thought they were being funny so put on a high-pitched childish voice ' oh, a wee sweetie for me' - blank looks all round.

@Boireannachlaidir

Perhaps the OP has gone for a wee google.

Yeah maybe. Very annoying to start a thread like this, and then not post on it again. The OP is definitely reading this.

@NellVarnish

I bloody LOVE being Scottish.

And I bloody LOVE being English.

Seems to be compulsory here in NI while shopping.

Do you need a wee bag for that?
Put yer wee card in the machine
Do you want a wee hand packing?
There's yer wee receipt
There's a wee till free over there

I love it!

Aw, ya wee dote.

Northern Irish people use it about a billion tones a day! Would you like a wee bag for that? Could you pop your wee card in the machine? Could you put your wee PIN number in? Here’s your wee receipt - would you like your wee receipt in your wee bag??

Wee cup of tea? I’ll be with you in a wee minute. Oh he’s a great wee boy, a great wee man all together.

Have all the Scots on here heard Elaine C Smith's "The Glasgow Gruffalo"?

I used to work in a rather posh city in England, with a woman from Edinburgh. She was about to start knitting something, which needed one wee needle and one muckle great needle. Blank looks from the staff who spoke like Radio Four announcers.

I'm sure people didn't say wee in Belfast as much as they do now?

I’ve never heard it in real life, only on here.
I’m also not English. Maybe OP isn’t either.

Never seen Mrs Doubtfire or the Simpsons?

I’ve seen the Simpson’s. Didn’t notice that they say it.

Hey OP!

Mind ya neb.

Chiyo666 - Willie says it all the time!

Oh. I’ve never been able to make out anything he says it took me years to realise he was actually speaking English!

I bloody LOVE being Scottish.

"It's Shite Being Scottish!"

Fucking annoying and affected unless you’re actually Scottish isn’t it!

I’ve seen the Simpson’s. Didn’t notice that they say it. Groundskeeper Willie
'Get your Haggis right here! Chopped heart and lungs boiled in a wee sheep's stomach! Tastes as good as it sounds!'
' What!? Have ye gone waxy in yer beester? I canna fit in the wee vent, ye croquet-playin' mint-muncher!'

A wee bit of silly thread...

We're in NI and DD (2) has just started saying "wee" in every sentence. The other day she was dressing her teddy and said "der you go Teddy, haf a wee pants"