titmouse

Etymology

Came from Middle English titmose, a compound of tit, meaning “small bird”, and mose, from Old English māse, meaning “titmouse”, from Proto-West Germanic *maisā, from Proto-Germanic *maisǭ (compare Dutch mees, German Meise, Old Norse meisingr, French mésange), from *maisaz, meaning “tiny, puny” (compare Norwegian meis, meaning “skinny weakling”). The spelling, and the plural form, were influenced by the otherwise unrelated word mouse.