titmouse
nounUS /ˈtɪtmaʊs/
Etymology From Middle English titmose, compound of tit (“small bird”) and mose, from Old English māse (“titmouse”), from Proto-West Germanic *maisā, from Proto-Germanic *maisǭ (compare Dutch mees, German Meise, Old Norse meisingr, French mésange), from *maisaz (“tiny, puny”) (compare Norwegian meis (“skinny weakling”)). Spelling as well as the plural form in imitation of the otherwise unrelated mouse.
1
Any small passerine bird mostly of the genus Baeolophus, which are found in the woods of the Northern Hemisphere and of Africa.
- Synonyms
- tit
- Derived terms
- black-crested titmouse, blue titmouse, bridled titmouse, coalmouse, juniper titmouse, long-tailed titmouse, oak titmouse, tufted titmouse
- Related terms
- chickadee, Pseudopodoces, Baeolophus, Melanochlora, Sylviparus