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toad

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toad

[tohd] ,
–noun
1. any of various tailless amphibians that are close relatives of the frogs in the order Anura and that typically have dry, warty skin and are terrestrial or semiterrestrial in habit. Compare frog 1 (def. 1).
2. Also called true toad. a toad of the widespread and chiefly terrestrial family Bufonidae, having relatively short hind legs used in hopping and often having at the shoulders swellings containing glands that, along with the skin, secrete an irritating fluid in defense. Compare frog 1 (def. 2).
3. any of various toadlike animals, as certain lizards.
4. a person or thing as an object of disgust or aversion.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME tode, OE tāde, tādi(g)e


toadish, toadlike, adjective
toad⋅ish⋅ness, noun
toadless, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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toad   (tōd)   
n.  
  1. Any of numerous tailless amphibians chiefly of the family Bufonidae, related to and resembling the frogs but characteristically more terrestrial and having a broader body and rougher, drier skin.

  2. The horned lizard.

  3. A person regarded as repulsive.


[Middle English tadde, tode, from Old English tādige.]
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

toad 
O.E. tadige, tadie, of unknown origin and with no known cognates outside Eng. Toadstone "stone or stone-like object, supposedly magical (with healing or protective power) and found in the heads of certain toads," is attested from 1558, transl. Gk. batrakhites, M.L. bufonites; cf. also Fr. crapaudine (13c.), Ger. krötenstein.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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