titmouse

n.; pl. Titmice [ OE. titemose, titmase; tit small, or a small bird + AS. māse 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. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of small insectivorous singing birds belonging to Parus and allied genera; -- called also tit, and tomtit. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The blue titmouse (Parus coeruleus), the marsh titmouse (Parus palustris), the crested titmouse (Parus cristatus), the great titmouse (Parus major), and the long tailed titmouse (Aegithalos caudatus), are the best-known European species. See Chickadee. [ 1913 Webster ]