flittermouse

American  

[flit-er-mous] / ˈflɪt ərˌmaʊs /

noun

plural

flittermice

1. bat.

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flittermouse British  

/ ˈflɪtəˌmaʊs /

noun

1. a dialect name for bat 2

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Etymology

Origin of flittermouse

1540–50; flitter ¹ + mouse; calque of German Fledermaus

Example Sentences

After that he greased it with the fat of a bat or flittermouse, to see if it was not written with the sperm of a whale, which some call ambergris.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 2 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

However, in some parts of the country the bat is still called by its old English name, "the flittermouse," that is, the mouse that flitters, or flutters about.

From The Squirrels and other animals Illustrations of the habits and instincts of many of the smaller British quadrupeds by Waring, George

In the light of futurity's favours Fair gratitude burgeons amain, And the flittermouse Love never wavers In truth to the Psyche of gain.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 99, July 26, 1890 by Various

I am compelled, therefore, to speak in the way of reconciliation on both sides, lest a feud should break out, and it should eventually fare with me as with the flittermouse in the fable.

From Specimens of German Romance Vol. I. The Patricians by Velde, Carl Franz van der

Indeed, as he spoke a flittermouse scurried through the air within a foot of her ear.

From Castle Craneycrow by McCutcheon, George Barr