Toad

[təʊd] or [tod]

Definition

(n.) Any one of numerous species of batrachians belonging to the genus Bufo and allied genera, especially those of the family Bufonidae. 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.

Typist: Melba

Definition

n. a genus of amphibians typical of the family Bufonid represented in Britain by two species—the Common Toad and the Natterjack.—ns. Toad′-eat′er a fawning sycophant—originally a mountebank's assistant whose duty was to swallow or pretend to swallow any kind of garbage; Toad′-eat′ing sycophancy.—adj. sycophantic.—ns. Toad′-fish the sapo of the United States Atlantic coast; Toad′-flax a genus of herbaceous plants closely allied to the Snapdragon; Toad′-in-a-hole a piece of beef baked in batter; Toad′-spit cuckoo-spit.—adj. Toad′-spot′ted thickly stained or spotted like a toad.—ns. Toad′-stone a soft and earthy variety of trap-rock of a brownish-gray colour looking like an argillaceous deposit; Toad′stool a poisonous kind of mushroom; Toad′y a mean hanger-on and flatterer.—v.t. to fawn as a sycophant:—pa.t. and pa.p. toad′ied.—adj. Toad′yish.—n. Toad′yism the practice of a toady.

Checker: Melanie