tit

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈtit

: teat

vulgar : breast

—usually used in plural

tit

2 of 4

noun (2)

: any of various small plump often long-tailed oscine birds (family Paridae) of Eurasia and Africa that are related to the chickadees and titmice

tit

3 of 4

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English titte "nipple of a human or animal, woman's breast," going back to Old English titt, going back to West Germanic *tittōn- (whence also West Frisian tit "nipple, breast," dialectal Dutch titte, late Middle High German zitze), of nursery origin

Note: The Middle English Dictionary lumps this etymon together with the forms under teat, which are likely of Romance origin, as well as including forms deviating from both, as tate and tutes (the latter, from Gloucestershire, apparently reflecting a Mercian Old English form with back umlaut before a geminate according to the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition). The modern use of tit as an impolite word for a woman's breast is first attested in the U.S. in the second half of the nineteenth century; it is not certain if it is a revival of the old word or a completely new formation.

Noun (2)

short for titmouse

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of tit was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century