pewee

[pee-wee]

noun

any of several New World flycatchers of the genus Contopus.Compare wood pewee.
the phoebe.

Origin of pewee

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; imitative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pewee

Historical Examples of pewee

The pewee, for all his tender and melancholy utterances, has a fiery spirit.
Little Brothers of the Air
Olive Thorne Miller
The first aim of Pewee and company was to get the better of the master.
The Hoosier School-boy
Edward Eggleston
Riley and Pewee—conspirators to the last—had their plans arranged.
The Hoosier School-boy
Edward Eggleston
Pewee was now sure that the boat had been taken as indemnity for the chicken and the eggs.
The Hoosier School-boy
Edward Eggleston
“Pewee and his crowd have gone up to the Indian Mound,” said Columbus.
The Hoosier School-boy
Edward Eggleston

British Dictionary definitions for pewee

pewee

peewee

noun

any of several small North American flycatchers of the genus Contopus, having a greenish-brown plumage

Word Origin for pewee

C19: imitative of its cry

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 pewee

"flycatcher, lapwing," 1810, variant of pewit (q.v.). See also peewee.