English

Wee Free

Wee Free comes from English wee ‘small’.

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

Earliest quotation: 1991, Jan Webster, I Only Can Dance With You: “The legions of the Wee Free were receding into…”

Made of the words Wee + Free

Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- ‘to convey, transport’

…

Proto-Germanic *wēgō ‘scales, weight’

Proto-West Germanic *wāgu ‘scales’

Old English wǣġ ‘a weight’

Middle English wey

English Wee

Proto-Indo-European *preyH- ‘to please; to love’

…

Proto-Germanic *frijaz ‘free’

Proto-West Germanic *frī ‘free’

Old English frēo ‘free, at liberty’

Middle English fre ‘having the status of a freeman’

English Free

Every English word from English wee

name The Free Kirk, as opposed to the United Free Kirk.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.