titmouse
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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… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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
