toad
UK /təʊd/ · US /toʊd/ noun, verb
Forms toads toading toaded tode twoad
- noun An amphibian, a kind of frog (broad sense, order Anura) with shorter hindlegs and a drier, wartier skin, many in family Bufonidae.
- noun (derogatory) A contemptible or unpleasant person.
- noun (derogatory) An ugly person.
- verb (Internet, informal, transitive) To expel (a user) permanently from a MUD or similar system, so that their account is deleted.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English tode, toode, tadde, tade, from Old English *tāde, a shortened variant of Old English tādie, tādiġe (“toad”).
Cognate with Scots tade, taid, taed, ted (“toad”). Compare also Danish tudse (“toad”), possibly originally from the same prehistoric root; also Swedish tåssa, tossa (“toad”), Old English tāxe (“toad”), Old English tosca (“toad”) by contrast.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any one of numerous species of batrachians belonging to the genus Bufo and allied genera, especially those of the family Bufonidæ. Toads are generally terrestrial in their habits except during the breeding season, when they seek the water. Most of the species burrow beneath the earth in the daytime and come forth to feed on insects at night. Most toads have a rough, warty skin in which are glands that secrete an acrid fluid.
Etymology [OE. tode, tade, AS. tadie, tadige; of unknown origin. Cf. Tadpole.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “toad”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details