teddy bear

noun

1. a toy bear, especially a stuffed one.

noun

1. a stuffed toy bear made from soft or fluffy materialOften shortened to: teddy

n.1906, named for U.S. president Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, a noted big-game hunter, whose conservationist fervor inspired a comic illustrated poem in the “New York Times” of Jan. 7, 1906, about two bears named Teddy, whose names were transferred to two bears presented to the Bronx Zoo that year. The name was picked up by toy dealers in 1907 for a line of “Roosevelt bears” imported from Germany. Meaning “big, lovable person” first attested 1957, from the song popularized by Elvis Presley.