chickadee

What it means

1. CanadaUSAny of the small, mostly black and white North American songbirds of the genus Poecile of the family Paridae.

   In Walden wood the chickadee / Runs round the pine and maple tree

   1904, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Fragments on Nature and Life”, in Poems

   Synonyms: tit

2. Affectionate term of address.

   I got a date with a cute little chickadee in just a few, an' I don't wanna be late!

   2004, Intelligent Systems, translated by Nintendo of America, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo, GameCube, level/area: Glitzville

In a sentence

In Walden wood the chickadee / Runs round the pine and maple tree

1904, Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Fragments on Nature and Life”, in Poems

Where it comes from

Apparent onomatopoeia from these birds' calls having a distinctive “chick-a-dee-dee-dee” sound, possibly influenced by chick or chicken.