titmouse

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a small songbird of the tit family, especially one of the North American genus Baeolophus; historically also used more broadly for tits

   A tufted titmouse carried a seed from the feeder to a nearby branch.

From Middle English titmose, combining an expressive name for a small bird with Old English mase, 'tit.' The final element was later reshaped as mouse by folk etymology, producing both the modern spelling and the irregular plural titmice; the bird name is not derived from mouse.

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