chick-a-diddlen.
/ˈtʃɪkəˌdɪdl/, U.S. /ˈtʃɪkəˌdɪd(ə)l/, Scottish English /ˈtʃɪkəˌdɪdl/ Scottish and U.S. regional.
In speech by or to young children: a young chicken or chick. Also as a term of endearment or affectionate form of address for a child or a woman. Cf. chickabiddy n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > terms of endearment > [noun] > of or to a child
chickc1330
dillydowna1500
dilling1584
dotey1663
cherub1680
dilli-darling1693
dilli-minion1693
chickabiddy?1775
chicken1809
dote1809
chick-a-diddle1826
sock-lamb1838
sock1840
childie1848
chickadee1860
doy1862
diddums1893
pumpkin1900
poopsie1937
bubele1959
1826 W. Scott Jrnl. 3 Oct. (1939) 239 Lay chick-a-diddle down with his bill laid upon it.
1995 Sunday Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 15 Oct. 34/1 A peripatetic Mark Hopkins, he [sc. my father] was, who showed me my first chick-a-diddle.
2016 S. Rennie tr. R. Dahl GFG: BFG in Scots xiii. 68 Keep yer heid up, chick-a-diddle..and ye will be gettin a guid keek at whit's gaun on.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1826