wey

See also: Wey

English

Etymology

From Middle English weie, waie, weihe, wæȝe, from Old English wǣġ (“a weight; a tool for weighing, balance, scale”), from Proto-West Germanic *wāgu, from Proto-Germanic *wēgō (“scales; weight”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move, bring, transport”). Cognate with German Waage (“weight”), Icelandic vág (“a weight”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: wā, IPA^(key): /weɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: way, weigh; whey (wine–whine merger)

Noun

wey (plural weys)

1. (uncommon, archaic) An old English measure of weight containing 224 pounds; equivalent to 2 hundredweight.
   • c. 1376, William Langland, The Vision of Piers Plowman, Version B, Passus 5, Line 91:

     Than though I hadde this wouke ywonne a weye of Essex cheese.

   • 1843, The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge‎^[1], volume 27, page 202:

     Seven pounds make a clove, 2 cloves a stone, 2 stone a tod, 6½ tods a wey, 2 weys a sack, 12 sacks a last. […] It is to be observed here that a sack is 13 tods, and a tod 28 pounds, so that the sack is 364 pounds.

   • 1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 208:

     Cheese and salt are purchased by the wey of two hundredweight, or by the stone of fourteen pounds.

   • 1858, Peter Lund Simmonds, The Dictionary of Trade Products, Manufacturing, and Technical Terms‎^[2], page 410:

     WEY, WEIGH, an English measure of weight; for wool, equal to 6½ tods of 28 lbs.; a load or five quarters of wheat; 40 bushels of salt, each 56 lbs.; 32 cloves of cheese, each 7 lbs.; 48 bushels of oats and barley; 2 to 3 cwt. of butter.

Anagrams

• Wye, wye, yew

Akatek

Etymology

From Proto-Mayan *way-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bej/

Verb

wey

1. (intransitive) to sleep

References

Preliminary Classic Maya ‐ English, English ‐ Classic Maya Vocabulary of Hieroglyphic Readings by Erik Boot 
2022. Akateko Living Dictionary. Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages. ( to sleep "wey" wav recording )

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English weġ, from Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz.

Alternative forms

• wei, weie, wai, way

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wæi̯/

Noun

wey (plural weys)

1. way

Descendants

• English: way
• Scots: wey, way
• Yola: wye, waie

References

• “wei, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

wey

1. alternative form of whey

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Conjunction

wey

1. that
   • 2025 April 24, Sammi Awami, “Wetin to know as Tanzania ban South Africa and Malawi imports inside quarrel wey enter anoda level”, in BBC News Pidgin‎^[3], archived from the original on 12 August 2025:

     Di border crossing between Tanzania and Malawi wey dey normally dey full off life dey quiet dan usual on Thursday as a result of one regional trade row wey don enter anoda level.

     The border crossing between Tanzania and Malawi that is normally full of life is quieter than usual on Thursday as a result of one regional trade row that has escalated.

Pronoun

wey

1. who
   • 2019 March 27, “How NYSC corpers fit get di free laptops and phones wey EU wan dash dem”, in BBC News Pidgin‎^[4], archived from the original on 22 June 2023:

     Any NYSC member wey dey interested need to send in entry ontop social media: Instagram and Twitter.

     Any NYSC member who is interested needs to send in an entry on social media: Instagram and Twitter.

Further reading

• “wey” in Naija Guru, 2026.

Pipil

Adjective

wey (plural wejwey or wejweymet)

1. big

Further reading

• Campbell, L. (1985). The Pipil Language of El Salvador. Mouton De Gruyter.
• Lara-Martínez, R., McCallister, R. Glosario cultural náwat pipil y nicarao.

Spanish

Alternative forms

• we

Etymology

Variant of güey, representing the relaxed pronunciation of the /ɡw/ sounds.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwei/ [ˈwei̯]
• Rhymes: -ei
• Syllabification: wey

Noun

wey m or f (plural weyes)

1. (Mexico, colloquial) chump, punk, dumbass, idiot, jerk
2. (Mexico, colloquial, also Latin America) dude, guy, buddy

   Synonyms: carnal, compa, cuate, tonto, vato, bro, broder, (Spain) tío, pana, parce, (Cuba) asere, (Puerto Rico, Canary Islands, vocative) chacho, mano, hermano, (Costa Rica) mae, chamo, socio, cabrón, parcero, (El Salvador) chero, (El Salvador) maje, marica, marico

Usage notes

• Due to the popularization of memes using Mexican slang all over Latin America through social networks, the word is heavily used on the internet by non-Mexicans and sometimes employed in spoken language.

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From Dutch weide.

Noun

wey

1. pasture