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frog

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frog

1[frog, frawg] noun, verb, frogged, frog⋅ging, adjective
–noun
1. any tailless, stout-bodied amphibian of the order Anura, including the smooth, moist-skinned frog species that live in a damp or semiaquatic habitat and the warty, drier-skinned toad species that are mostly terrestrial as adults.
2. Also called true frog, ranid. any frog of the widespread family Ranidae, most members of which are semiaquatic and have smooth, moist skin and relatively long hind legs used for leaping. Compare toad (def. 2).
3. a slight hoarseness, usually caused by mucus on the vocal cords: a frog in the throat.
4. (often initial capital letter) Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. a French person or a person of French descent.
5. a small holder made of heavy material, placed in a bowl or vase to hold flower stems in position.
6. a recessed panel on one of the larger faces of a brick or the like.
7. Music. nut (def. 11b).
–verb (used without object)
8. to hunt and catch frogs.
–adjective
9. (often initial capital letter) Slang: Disparaging and Offensive. French or Frenchlike.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME frogge, OE frogga, frocga; cf. dial., ME frosh, ON froskr, OHG frosk (G Frosch); (defs. 4, 9) because Frenchmen were stereotypically thought of as eating frogs; (defs. 5, 6) of unclear derivation and perh. of distinct orig.


froglike, adjective

frog

2[frog, frawg]
–noun
1. an ornamental fastening for the front of a coat, consisting of a button and a loop through which it passes.
2. a sheath suspended from a belt and supporting a scabbard.

Origin:
1710–20; perh. < Pg froco < L floccus flock 2

frog

3[frog, frawg]
–noun
Railroads. a device at the intersection of two tracks to permit the wheels and flanges on one track to cross or branch from the other.

Origin:
1840–50, Americanism; of uncert. orig.

frog

4[frog, frawg]
–noun Zoology.
a triangular mass of elastic, horny substance in the middle of the sole of the foot of a horse or related animal.

Origin:
1600–10; cf. earlier frush in same sense (prob. < F fourchette fourchette ); presumably identified with dial. frosh frog, hence with frog 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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frog   (frôg, frŏg)   
n.  
  1. Any of numerous tailless, aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial amphibians of the order Anura and especially of the family Ranidae, characteristically having a smooth moist skin, webbed feet, and long hind legs adapted for leaping.

  2. A wedge-shaped, horny prominence in the sole of a horse's hoof.

  3. A loop fastened to a belt to hold a tool or weapon.

  4. An ornamental looped braid or cord with a button or knot for fastening the front of a garment.

  5. A device on intersecting railroad tracks that permits wheels to cross the junction.

  6. A spiked or perforated device used to support stems in a flower arrangement.

  7. The nut of a violin bow.

  8. Informal Hoarseness or phlegm in the throat.

  9. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a French person.


[Middle English frogge, from Old English frogga.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

frog 
O.E. frogga, a dim. of frox, forsc, frosc "frog," from P.Gmc. *fruska-z (cf. O.N. froskr, M.Du. vorsc, Ger. Frosch "frog"), probably lit. "hopper" (cf. Skt. provate "hops," Rus. prygat "to hop, jump"). The L. word (rana) is imitative of croaking. As a derogatory term for "Frenchman," 1778 (short for frog-eater), but before that (1652) it meant "Dutch" (from frog-land "marshy land"). To have a frog in the throat "hoarseness" is from 1909. Frogman "scuba diver in rubber suit" is from 1945. Frog-march (1871) originated among London police and referred to their method of moving "a drunken or refractory prisoner" by carrying him face-down between four people, each holding a limb; the connection with frog perhaps being the notion of going along belly-down. By the 1930s, the verb was used in ref. to the much more efficient (but less frog-like) method of getting someone in an arm-behind-the-back hold and hustling him or her along like that.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: frog
Pronunciation: 'frog, 'fräg
Function: noun
1 : any of various smooth-skinned web-footed largely aquatic tailless agile leapingamphibians (as of the suborder Diplasiocoela)
2 : the triangular elastic horny pad in the middle of the sole of the foot of a horse
3 : a condition in thethroat that produces hoarseness frog in his throat>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Bible Dictionary

Frog

(Heb. tsepharde'a, meaning a "marsh-leaper"). This reptile is mentioned in the Old Testament only in connection with one of the plagues which fell on the land of Egypt (Ex. 8:2-14; Ps. 78:45; 105:30). In the New Testament this word occurs only in Rev. 16:13, where it is referred to as a symbol of uncleanness. The only species of frog existing in Palestine is the green frog (Rana esculenta), the well-known edible frog of the Continent.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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