What it means
A wean is a child, usually a wee one, and it’s one of those proper everyday Scottish words that never feels dressed up. You’ll hear it from parents, grannies, neighbours, anybody really. It can sound dead warm and affectionate, or slightly fried if somebody’s wean has been bouncing off the walls since 6 in the morning.
Usage examples
"I’ve had the wean all day and he’s pure hyper, running about the close like a rocket, then greeting when it’s bedtime. Help us."
"The weans are running riot in the back garden again, I cannae hear myself think."
"She had three weans before she was twenty-five and still found time to study at night."
"Get your shoes on, wean, we’re no missing the bus again just because you’ve decided your dinosaur needs a jacket."
"That poor woman’s got two weans, three messages from the school, and a trolley with one dodgy wheel. Say a prayer for her."
Where it comes from
Wean comes from Scots wee ane, meaning wee one. Over time, fast everyday speech squeezed the two words together till wean became the normal form. It’s an old Scots word that’s been kicking about for centuries and it’s still a totally standard way in Scotland to mean a child, especially a little one.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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