Where does “wee” come from?
wee (Middle Dutch) comes from Old Dutch wē, from Old Dutch hwē, from Proto-West Germanic hwaʀ, from Proto-Germanic hwaz, from Proto-Indo-European kʷos, from Proto-Indo-European kʷ- — The primary interrogative root.
wee (Middle Dutch): woe!; unpleasant, painful; pain
Definitions
- woe!; unpleasant, painful; pain
Ancestry of “wee”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old Dutch | wē | — |
| 2 | Old Dutch | hwē | — |
| 3 | Proto-West Germanic | hwaʀ | who |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | hwaz | who, what; whose; whom |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷos | See *kʷis |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷ- | The primary interrogative root |