tittynope

T1I1T1T1Y4N1O1P3E1

noun

A small amount left over; a modicum.

Scrabble 14
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Meanings

nountittynope (plural tittynopes)

plural tittynopes

  1. rareA small amount left over; a modicum.

    When I ask if she can spare a tittynope of her love for this hopeless sailor

    2016, Leah Edwards, “Love like Popchips”, in Wooden Teeth (The George Washington University), volume 39, page 29, column 1
    2 more examples

    We will sip tea, binge and brannigan on vocabulary, nibble on sweets and yes― leave a small bit, a tittynope, for the birds.

    2021, Lucy Griffith, “Meet Me at the Growlery”, in Diane Lockward, editor, The Strategic Poet: Honing the Craft, Terrapin Books (e-book via eBookIt.com), →ISBN, →OCLC

    very consistent fuel feed throughout, so that not even a tittynope of fuel remains in the tank

    2022 January 28, AeroModeller Magazine, number 1016 (ADH098), Doolittle Media, EAN-13:9770001923011, archived from the original on 12 Jan 2022, page 10

Origin

Originally Yorkshire dialect for a small quantity of grain in gleaning. EDD gives titty-mouse, found in West Yorkshire, as a synonym; the same word has an additional meaning of titmouse (“small bird, chickadee”) in the dialects of Lancashire and Norfolk, and is likely a variant thereof. By analogy, tittynope might be from tit (“chickadee; bit, morsel”) + -y + nope (“bullfinch, titmouse”). Note that "tit-nope" is attested dialectally, referring to the blue tit. On the other hand, some websites give a derivation from tittle (“dot of the letter i; modicum, speck”). There are many similar-sounding words meaning "small" such as itty-bitty and little, so the first part of the word could simply be an example of sound symbolism; although if the etymology above is correct, it likely derives from the same source as the bird tit.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

tittynope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tittynope

MLA

“tittynope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tittynope. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tittynope,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tittynope.

Source: tittynope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.