# teddy bear

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. A plush toy in the shape of a bear.
2. A lovable, endearing, large, strong, hairy, or sweet man, particularly one who is gentle in spite of a burly or gruff appearance.

## Etymology
From Morris Michtom, the owner of a candy store in Brooklyn N.Y., who made the first “Teddy Bear” in the year 1902 in honor of then American President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt when he had heard that he had refused to shoot a bear cub on one of his hunting trips.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/teddy-bear