Peewee

来自Big Physics

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mid 19th century (in peewee (sense 3 of the noun)); peewee (sense 1 of the noun) is imitative; peewee (sense 2 of the noun, sense 3 of the noun) are from wee1, by reduplication.


Ety img peewee.png

wiktionary

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Probably reduplication of wee(“small”).

Probably from onomatopoeia of the birds' songs.


etymonline

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peewee (adj.)

1877, "small, tiny; for children," a dialect word, possibly a varied reduplication of wee. Attested earlier (1848) as a noun meaning "a small marble." (Baseball Hall-of-Famer Harold "Peewee" Reese got his nickname because he was a marbles champion before he became a Dodgers shortstop.)

As a type of bird (variously applied on different continents) it is attested from 1886, imitative of a bird cry. Earlier peeweep (1825), and compare peewit.