[tog-uh
l] 
noun, verb, -gled, -gling.| 1. | a pin, bolt, or rod placed transversely through a chain, an eye or loop in a rope, etc., as to bind it temporarily to another chain or rope similarly treated. |
| 2. | a toggle joint, or a device having one. |
| 3. | an ornamental, rod-shaped button for inserting into a large buttonhole, loop, or frog, used esp. on sports clothes. |
| 4. | Theater.
|
| 5. | to furnish with a toggle. |
| 6. | to bind or fasten with a toggle. |
| 7. | Informal. to turn, twist, or manipulate a toggle switch; dial or turn the switch of (an appliance): He toggled the TV between the baseball game and the news. |
| tog·gle (tŏg'əl) n.
v. tr. To furnish or fasten with a toggle. v. intr. To alternate between two or more electronic, mechanical, or computer-related options, usually by the operation of a single switch or keystroke: toggled back and forth between two windows on the screen. [Origin unknown.] |
toggle
To change a bit from whatever state it is in to the other state; to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. This comes from "toggle switches", such as standard light switches, though the word "toggle" actually refers to the mechanism that keeps the switch in the position to which it is flipped rather than to the fact that the switch has two positions. There are four things you can do to a bit: set it (force it to be 1), clear (or zero) it, leave it alone, or toggle it.
[The Jargon File]
(1994-12-12)
