What is this "wee" word i see everywhere

[meditereb]

What does it mean ? Why is used for everything ?

Also see Big Jim, Wee Jim and Wee Jim's wain for a family tree

Tbf, with all the wierdos out there and the frequent reappearance of a couple of them on Mumsnet, I'm not sure I'd Google wee without safe search being on.

@BarbaraofSeville It would be more sensible to assume that someone asking what “wee” means does not have English as their first language than it would to assume they are a troll. Learning English as a second language including being mindful of all the varying dialects is a feat very few British nationals manage to muster or master (it’s a well known fact!) when they live abroad but seem to get very annoyed when foreigners don’t fully grasp their language and all its nuances like a local.

I hope a Scot doesn’t tell me off for cultural appropriation.

Presumably there are some Scots like that but on the whole we're not really the type, culturally speaking.

and also it's wean

I'm a wee pedant, so I am.

I hope a Scot doesn’t tell me off for cultural appropriation.

Better not, or we shall have our language back.

Seriously, it’s quicker to Google than set up a MN thread!

If you look at OP username and grammar it suggests she is not on this Continent. Was a simple question, why are people so mean. :(

It's Scottish however many other countries use it as well. It's just a word, why does it annoy you so much?

We use this all the time in Scotland. When I hear someone saying it in an English or American accent, it dosent sound right. Lol

Well, I've known this word since I was very wee, as we had a Scottish neighbour on our street.
But I had no idea it was used in NI too, so every day is a school day on MN.

I'm confused by the annoyance from some. Even if OP does have hairy hands it's in a fairly harmless way, and makes a nice break from all the "here's why the coronavirus guidelines shouldn't apply to me personally/can I dob in my neighbor for taking their dog out for a wee twice today" threads.

Can we have a crack at an actual definition for the OP?

When it's used to pepper conversation, it doesn't mean small.

It's not exactly a term of endearment either, though objects referred to as 'wee' are usually ones we feel positive about.

Like

Wee cup of tea
Wee scone
Wee card
Wee mummy
Wee boy/girl
Wee coat
Wee chair
Wee purse
Wee dog

Any takers?

I do find it odd that you’ve never heard it before.

My favourite instance was of a Scottish teenage boy referring to the ‘wee biddy wife’ of some ghastly politician caught with his pants down and doing the usual performance for TV cameras, arm round bravely smiling wife who probably wanted to kill him!

Same with tatties in potatoes. doesn’t sound right in any other accent other than Scottish lol.

It’s a very Glasgow thing.

As in Billy Connolly's homage to Buddy Holly:

I've got piles
You've got scabies
The wain's got measles
And the dog's got rabies
Oh Boy....

Also see Big Jim, Wee Jim and Wee Jim's wain for a family tree

If I heard an American says "tatties" I'd be confused. Even more so if they also said neeps.

I'm a wee bit annoyed by this, you are a bit of a gobshite!

In 'Geordie' tatties would be pronounced 'tayties'.

@TitianaTitsling - oh please tell me what a "wee scone" is meant to convey - I was on a FB thread about this not long ago and no one could work out why "scone" was a bad thing to call someone. Couldn't find any clear allusion to it by Googling, but now you've used it, could you please tell me? You can PM me if you'd rather. :)

OP if you really want to know:
dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/wee_n1_adj_adv

My pint was that most people anywhere in the world will have had some contact

What an incredibly narrow minded view you have.

You seriously believe every individual in every continent of the world has had some contact with a Scottish person and who has also used the word ‘wee’ to them before? or is your definition of world really just You and your friends?

Also appears in the phrase wee small hours, where wee and small have the same meaning and reinforce each other.

It's extra fun/confusing to outsiders when Wee Jim, for example, is 6ft2, and Big Jim, who is of an older generation, is 5ft7