flittermouse

• flear-mouse, flettermouse, flitter-mouse, fluttermouse

From flitter +‎ mouse (compare flickermouse, flindermouse), after Middle Dutch fleddermuys, vledermuys, vlermuys (Modern Dutch vleermuis), from vledderen, vlederen (“to flutter, float, hover”) + muys (“mouse”). Cognate with West Frisian flearmûs (“bat”), Middle Low German vledermūs (“bat”), German Fledermaus (“bat”), Swedish fladdermus (“bat”) and flädermus (“bat”). More at flitter, flutter, flatter, mouse.

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flittermouse (plural flittermice)

1. (now chiefly dialectal) A bat (flying mammal).
   • 1891, Conway Lloyd Morgan, Animal sketches:

     I thank thee, gentle flittermouse, for these so pleasant memories. Have you ever caught and examined a flittermouse?

   • 1894, Philip Stewart Robinson, Birds of the Wave and Woodland, Electronic Edition, unnumbered page,

     The bats wheel overhead, their soft wings crumpling as they turn their somersaults, but never a voice in the air, save sharp needle-points of sound, as flittermouse calls to flittermouse.

   • 1969, Rayner Heppenstall, The Shearers, page 183:

     They don't bump into folk, blind people don't. They're like flittermice. You never saw two flittermice bump into each other.