Hyphenation
tit·mousePronunciation
Etymology
() From Middle English titmose, compound of tit 'small bird' and Old English māse (“titmouse”), from Proto-Germanic *maison (compare Dutch mees, German Meise, Old Norse meisingr), from *maisa 'tiny, puny' (compare Norwegian meis 'skinny weakling', Flemish mejzel 'bit, crumb'). The plural is formed in imitation of the otherwise unrelated mouse.