Nearby words
black-bag, black-bag job, black-bellied plover, black-billed cuckoo, black-billed magpie, black-capped chickadee, black-coated, black-crowned night heron, black-eyed pea, black-eyed susan, black-figure
Origin of black-capped chickadee
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Definition for black-capped chickadee (2 of 2)
chickadee
[ chik-uh-dee ]
/ ˈtʃɪk əˌdi /
noun
any of several North American birds of the genus Parus, of the titmouse family, especially P. atricapillus (black-capped chickadee), having the throat and top of the head black.
Origin of chickadee
First recorded in 1820–30; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for black-capped chickadee
chickadee
/ (ˈtʃɪkəˌdiː) /
noun
any of various small North American songbirds of the genus Parus, such as P. atricapillus (black-capped chickadee), typically having grey-and-black plumage: family Paridae (titmice)
Word Origin for chickadee
C19: imitative of its note
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for black-capped chickadee
chickadee
black-capped titmouse, 1834, American English, echoic of its cry.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper