Titmouse

Titmouse
Titmouse Tit"mouse`, n.; pl. {Titmice}. [OE. titemose, titmase; tit small, or a small bird + AS. m[=a]se a kind of small bird; akin to D. mees a titmouse, G. meise, OHG. meisa, Icel. meisingr. The English form has been influenced by the unrelated word mouse. Cf. {Tit} a small bird.] (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of small insectivorous singing birds belonging to {Parus} and allied genera; -- called also {tit}, and {tomtit}. [1913 Webster]

Note: The blue titmouse ({Parus c[oe]ruleus}), the marsh titmouse ({Parus palustris}), the crested titmouse ({Parus cristatus}), the great titmouse ({Parus major}), and the long tailed titmouse ({[AE]githalos caudatus}), are the best-known European species. See {Chickadee}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • titmouse — [tit′mous΄] n. pl. titmice [tit′mīs΄] [altered, infl. by MOUSE < ME titemose, prob. < tit , little + OE mase, titmouse, akin to Ger meise] any of a family (Paridae) of small passerine birds found throughout the world except in South America …   English World dictionary

  • titmouse — (n.) small, active bird, early 14c., titmose, from TIT (Cf. tit) (n.2) (expressing something small) + O.E. mase titmouse, from P.Gmc. *maison (Cf. Du. mees, Ger. meise), from adj. *maisa little, tiny. Spelling influenced 16c. by unrelated mo …   Etymology dictionary

  • titmouse — ► NOUN (pl. titmice) ▪ a small songbird, typically foraging acrobatically among foliage and branches. ORIGIN from TIT(Cf. ↑tit) + obsolete mose «titmouse» …   English terms dictionary

  • titmouse — /tit mows /, n., pl. titmice / muys /. any of numerous, widely distributed, small songbirds of the family Paridae, esp. of the genus Parus, having soft, thick plumage and a short, stout, conical bill. Cf. tufted titmouse. [1275 1325; ME… …   Universalium

  • titmouse — noun (plural titmice) Etymology: by folk etymology from Middle English titmose, from *tit any small object or creature + mose titmouse, from Old English māse; akin to Old High German meisa titmouse Date: 14th century any of several small North… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • titmouse — UK [ˈtɪtˌmaʊs] / US noun [countable] Word forms titmouse : singular titmouse plural titmice a small bird …   English dictionary

  • titmouse — tit•mouse [[t]ˈtɪtˌmaʊs[/t]] n. pl. mice [[t] ˌmaɪs[/t]] orn any of various small, stout billed songbirds of the family Paridae, esp. of the genus Parus, found in most of the world outside of Australasia and South America • Etymology: 1275–1325;… …   From formal English to slang

  • titmouse — noun (plural titmice) a small songbird, typically foraging acrobatically among foliage and branches. [Many species, chiefly in the family Paridae.] Origin ME: from tit1 + obs. mose titmouse (assimilated to mouse) …   English new terms dictionary

  • titmouse — /ˈtɪtmaʊs/ (say titmows) noun (plural titmice /ˈtɪtmaɪs/ (say titmuys)) any of various small birds constituting the family Paridae, as Parus atricapillus of the New and Old Worlds. {Middle English titmose, from tit1 + mose (Old English māse)… …  

  • titmouse — n. (pl. titmice) any of various small tits, esp. of the genus Parus. Etymology: ME titmose f. TIT(1) + OE mase titmouse, assim. to MOUSE …   Useful english dictionary

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