a small songbird that searches acrobatically for insects among foliage and branches.Also called titmouse or (in North America) chickadee.
Family Paridae: three genera, especially Parus, and numerous species. See blue tit, great tit
used in names of birds that are similar or related to the tits, e.g. penduline tit, New Zealand tit.
Origin:
mid 16th century: probably of Scandinavian origin and related to Icelandic titlingur 'sparrow'; compare with titling2 and titmouse. Earlier senses were 'small horse' and 'girl'; the current sense dates from the early 18th century
