peerie

• Rhymes: -ɪəɹi

peerie (comparative peerier, superlative peeriest)

1. (chiefly Shetland and Orkney) Small, tiny.

peerie (plural peeries)

1. A Shetland sheepdog.
2. Alternative form of peery (“spinning top”)

Unknown.

• peedie (Orkney, modern)

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiːri/

peerie (comparative peerier, superlative peeriest)

1. (Orkney, Shetland) small, little, tiny

• Peerie Sea (a placename, literally “little sea”)
• peerie folk (fairies, literally “little folk”)

• In modern Orcadian Scots, peedie gradually replaces this term.

From peer (“pear”) +‎ -ie, due to the resemblance of some spinning tops to pears.

peerie (plural peeries)

1. A spinning top.

• → English: peery

• “peerie” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.
• "peerie" in The Orkney Dictionary, 1996, by Margaret Flaws and Gregor Lamb.