Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)


Page 1514

Toady

Toad"y (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Toadied (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Toadying.] To fawn upon with mean sycophancy.

Toadyism

Toad"y*ism (?), n. The practice of meanly fawning on another; base sycophancy; servile adulation.

Toast

Toast (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Toasted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Toasting.] [OF. toster to roast, toast, fr. L. torrere, tostum, to parch, roast. See Torrid.]

1. To dry and brown by the heat of a fire; as, to toast bread.

2. To warm thoroughly; as, to toast the feet.

3. To name when a health is proposed to be drunk; to drink to the health, or in honor, of; as, to toast a lady.

Toast

Toast, n. [OF. toste, or tostée, toasted bread. See Toast, v.]

1. Bread dried and browned before a fire, usually in slices; also, a kind of food prepared by putting slices of toasted bread into milk, gravy, etc. <-- now usu. prepared in an electrical toaster. See toaster. -->

My sober evening let the tankard bless, With toast embrowned, and fragrant nutmeg fraught. T. Warton.

2. A lady in honor of whom persons or a company are invited to drink; -- so called because toasts were formerly put into the liquor, as a great delicacy.

It now came to the time of Mr. Jones to give a toast . . . who could not refrain from mentioning his dear Sophia. Fielding.

3. Hence, any person, especially a person of distinction, in honor of whom a health is drunk; hence, also, anything so commemorated; a sentiment, as The land we live in," The day we celebrate," etc. Toast rack, a small rack or stand for a table, having partitions for holding slices of dry toast.

Toaster

Toast"er (?), n.

1. One who toasts.

2. A kitchen utensil for toasting bread, cheese, etc.<-- since 1950, usu. operated by electricity, with heating coils arranged so as to brown a slice of bread evenly over both surfaces. --> <-- Toaster oven. an electrical toaster. -->

Toasting

Toast"ing, a. & n. from Toast, v. Toasting fork, a long-handled fork for toasting bread, cheese, or the like, by the fire.

Toastmaster

Toast"mas`ter (?), n. A person who presides at a public dinner or banquet, and announces the toasts.

Toat

Toat (?), n. The handle of a joiner's plane. Knight.

Tobacco

To*bac"co (?), n. [Sp. tabaco, fr. the Indian tabaco the tube or pipe in which the Indians or Caribbees smoked this plant. Some derive the word from Tabaco, a province of Yucatan, where it was said to be first found by the Spaniards; others from the island of Tobago, one of the Caribbees. But these derivations are very doubtful.]

1. (Bot.) An American plant (Nicotiana Tabacum) of the Nightshade family, much used for smoking and chewing, and as snuff. As a medicine, it is narcotic, emetic, and cathartic. Tobacco has a strong, peculiar smell, and an acrid taste. &hand; The name is extended to other species of the genus, and to some unrelated plants, as Indian tobacco (Nicotiana rustica, and also Lobelia inflata), mountain tobacco (Arnica montana), and Shiraz tobacco (Nicotiana Persica).

2. The leaves of the plant prepared for smoking, chewing, etc., by being dried, cured, and manufactured in various ways. Tobacco box (Zoöl.), the common American skate. -- Tobacco camphor. (Chem.) See Nicotianine. -- Tobacco man, a tobacconist. [R.] -- Tobacco pipe. (a) A pipe used for smoking, made of baked clay, wood, or other material. (b) (Bot.) Same as Indian pipe, under Indian. -- Tobacco-pipe clay (Min.), a species of clay used in making tobacco pipes; -- called also cimolite. -- Tobacco-pipe fish. (Zoöl.) See Pipemouth. -- Tobacco stopper, a small plug for pressing down the tobacco in a pipe as it is smoked. -- Tobacco worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a large hawk moth (Sphinx, ∨ Phlegethontius, Carolina). It is dark green, with seven oblique white stripes bordered above with dark brown on each side of the body. It feeds upon the leaves of tobacco and tomato plants, and is often very injurious to the tobacco crop. See Illust. of Hawk moth.

Tobacconing

To*bac"co*ning (?), n. Smoking tobacco. [Obs.] Tobacconing is but a smoky play." [Obs.] Sylvester.

Tobacconist

To*bac"co*nist (?), n.

1. A dealer in tobacco; also, a manufacturer of tobacco.

2. A smoker of tobacco. [Obs.] Sylvester.

To-beat

To-beat" (?), v. t. [Pref. to- + beat.] To beat thoroughly or severely. [Obs.] Layamon.

Tobias fish

To*bi"as fish` (?). [See the Note under Asmodeus, in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.] (Zoöl.) The lant, or sand eel.

Tobine

To"bine (?), n. [Cf. G. tobin, D. tabijn. See Tabby.] A stout twilled silk used for dresses.

Tobit

To"bit (?), n. A book of the Apocrypha.

Toboggan

To*bog"gan (?), n. [Corruption of American Indian odabagan a sled.] A kind of sledge made of pliable board, turned up at one or both ends, used for coasting down hills or prepared inclined planes; also, a sleigh or sledge, to be drawn by dogs, or by hand, over soft and deep snow. [Written also tobogan, and tarbogan.]

Toboggan

To*bog"gan (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tobogganed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Tobogganing.] To slide down hill over the snow or ice on a toboggan. Barilett.

Tobogganer, Tobogganist

To*bog"gan*er (?), To*bog"gan*ist (?), n. One who practices tobogganing.

To-break

To-break" (?), v. t. [Pref. to- + break.] To break completely; to break in pieces. [Obs.]
With nose and mouth to-broke. Chaucer.

To-brest

To-brest" (?), v. t. [Pref. to- + brest.] To burst or break in pieces. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Toccata

Toc*ca"ta (?), n. [It., fr. toccare to touch. See Touch.] (Mus.) An old form of piece for the organ or harpsichord, somewhat in the free and brilliant style of the prelude, fantasia, or capriccio.

Tocher

Toch"er (?), n. [Gael. tochradh.] Dowry brought by a bride to her husband. [Scot.] Burns.

Tockay

Tock"ay (?), n. (Zoöl.) A spotted lizard native of India.

Toco

To"co (?), n. (Zoöl.) A toucan (Ramphastos toco) having a very large beak. See Illust. under Toucan.

Tocology

To*col"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. a birth + -logy.] The science of obstetrics, or midwifery; that department of medicine which treats of parturition. [Written also tokology.]

Tocororo

To*co*ro"ro (?), n. [Probably from the native name through the Spanish: cf. Sp. tocororo.] (Zoöl.) A cuban trogon (Priotelus temnurus) having a serrated bill and a tail concave at the end.

Tocsin

Toc"sin (?), n. [F., fr. OF. toquier to touch, F. toquer (originally, a dialectic form of F. toucher) + seint (for sein) a bell, LL. signum, fr. L. signum a sign, signal. See Touch, and Sign.] An alarm bell, or the ringing of a bell for the purpose of alarm.
The loud tocsin tolled their last alarm. Campbell.

Tod

Tod (t&ocr;d), n. [Akin to D. todde a rag, G. zotte shag, rag, a tuft of hair, Icel. toddi a piece of a thing, a tod of wool.]

1. A bush; a thick shrub; a bushy clump. [R.] An ivy todde." Spenser.

The ivy tod is heavy with snow. Coleridge.

2. An old weight used in weighing wool, being usually twenty-eight pounds.

3. A fox; -- probably so named from its bushy tail.

The wolf, the tod, the brock. B. Jonson.
Tod stove, a close stove adapted for burning small round wood, twigs, etc. [U.S.] Knight.

Tod

Tod, v. t. & i. To weigh; to yield in tods. [Obs.]

To-day

To-day" (?), adv. [AS. t dæg. See To, prep., and Day.] On this day; on the present day.
Worcester's horse came but to-day. Shak.

To-day

To-day", n. The present day. <-- usu. spelt today. -->
On to-day Is worth for me a thousand yesterdays. Longfellow.
<-- today adj. modern, recent. -->

Toddle

Tod"dle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Toddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Toddling (?).] [Akin to tottle, totter.] To walk with short, tottering steps, as a child.

Toddle

Tod"dle, n. A toddling walk. Trollope.

Toddler

Tod"dler (?), n. One who toddles; especially, a young child. Mrs. Gaskell.

Toddy

Tod"dy (?), n. [Formed from Hind. tāī the juice of the palmyra tree, popularly, toddy, fr. the palmyra tree, Skr. tāla.]

1. A juice drawn from various kinds of palms in the East Indies; or, a spirituous liquor procured from it by fermentation.

2. A mixture of spirit and hot water sweetened. &hand; Toddy differs from grog in having a less proportion of spirit, and is being made hot and sweetened. Toddy bird (Zoöl.), a weaver bird of the East Indies and India: -- so called from its fondness for the juice of the palm. -- Toddy cat (Zoöl.), the common paradoxure; the palm cat.

To-do

To-do" (?), n. [To + do. Cf. Ado.] Bustle; stir; commotion; ado. [Colloq.]

Tody

To"dy (?), n.; pl. Todies (#). [Cf. NL. todus, F. todier, G. todvogel.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small insectivorous West Indian birds of the genus Todus. They are allied to the kingfishers.

Toe

Toe (?), n. [OE. too, taa, AS. ; akin to D. teen, G. zehe, OHG. zēha, Icel. , Sw. , Dan. taa; of uncertain origin. √60.]

1. (Anat.) One of the terminal members, or digits, of the foot of a man or an animal. Each one, tripping on his toe." Shak.

2. (Zoöl.) The fore part of the hoof or foot of an animal.

3. Anything, or any part, corresponding to the toe of the foot; as, the toe of a boot; the toe of a skate.

4. (Mach.) (a) The journal, or pivot, at the lower end of a revolving shaft or spindle, which rests in a step. (b) A lateral projection at one end, or between the ends, of a piece, as a rod or bolt, by means of which it is moved. (c) A projection from the periphery of a revolving piece, acting as a cam to lift another piece. Toe biter (Zoöl.), a tadpole; a polliwig. -- Toe drop (Med.), a morbid condition of the foot in which the toe is depressed and the heel elevated, as in talipes equinus. See Talipes.

Toe

Toe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Toed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Toeing.] To touch or reach with the toes; to come fully up to; as, to toe the mark.

Toe

Toe, v. i. To hold or carry the toes (in a certain way). To toe in, to stand or carry the feet in such a way that the toes of either foot incline toward the other. -- To toe out, to have the toes of each foot, in standing or walking, incline from the other foot. <-- (Automobiles) toe in, to align the front wheels so that they point slightly toward each other. -->

Toed

Toed (?), a.

1. Having (such or so many) toes; -- chiefly used in composition; as, narrow-toed, four-toed.

2. (Carp.) Having the end secured by nails driven obliquely, said of a board, plank, or joist serving as a brace, and in general of any part of a frame secured to other parts by diagonal nailing.

To-fall

To-fall" (?), n. (Arch.) A lean-to. See Lean-to.

Toffee, Toffy

Tof"fee (?), Tof"fy (?), n. Taffy. [Eng.]

Tofore, Toforn

To*fore" (?), To*forn" (?), prep. & adv. [AS. tforan. See To, prep., Fore.] Before. [Obs.]
Toforn him goeth the loud minstrelsy. Chaucer.
Would thou wert as thou tofore hast been! Shak.

Toft

Toft (?), n. [OE. toft a knoll; akin to LG. toft a field hedged in, not far from a house, Icel. topt a green knoll, grassy place, place marked out for a house, Dan. toft.]

1. A knoll or hill. [Obs.] A tower on a toft." Piers Plowman.

2. A grove of trees; also, a plain. [Prov. Eng.]

3. (O. Eng. Law) A place where a messuage has once stood; the site of a burnt or decayed house.

Toftman

Toft"man (?), n.; pl. Toftmen (). The owner of a toft. See Toft, 3.

Tofus

To"fus (?), n. [L., tufa.]

1. Tophus.

2. (Min.) Tufa. See under Tufa, and Toph.

Toga

To"ga (?), n.; pl. E. Togas (#), L. Togæ (#). [L., akin to tegere to cover. See Thatch.] (Rom. Antiq.) The loose outer garment worn by the ancient Romans, consisting of a single broad piece of woolen cloth of a shape approaching a semicircle. It was of undyed wool, except the border of the toga prætexta. Toga prætexta. [L.], a toga with a broad purple border, worn by children of both sexes, by magistrates, and by persons engaged in sacred rites. -- Toga virilis [L.], the manly gown; the common toga. This was assumed by Roman boys about the time of completing their fourteenth year.

Togated

To"ga*ted (?), a. [L. togatus, from toga a toga.] Dressed in a toga or gown; wearing a gown; gowned. [R.] Sir M. Sandys.

Toged

To"ged (?), a. Togated. [Obs. or R.] Shak.

Together

To*geth"er (?), adv. [OE. togedere, togidere, AS. tgædere, tgædre, tgadere; t to + gador together. √29. See To, prep., and Gather.]

1. In company or association with respect to place or time; as, to live together in one house; to live together in the same age; they walked together to the town.

Soldiers can never stand idle long together. Landor.

2. In or into union; into junction; as, to sew, knit, or fasten two things together; to mix things together.

The king joined humanity and policy together. Bacon.

3. In concert; with mutual coöperation; as, the allies made war upon France together. Together with, in union with; in company or mixture with; along with.

Take the bad together with the good. Dryden.

Toggery

Tog"ger*y (?), n. [Cf. Togated.] Clothes; garments; dress; as, fishing toggery. [Colloq.] <-- now the same idea is expressed as togs -->

Toggle

Tog"gle (?), n. [Cf. Tug.] [Written also toggel.]

1. (Naut.) A wooden pin tapering toward both ends with a groove around its middle, fixed transversely in the eye of a rope to be secured to any other loop or bight or ring; a kind of button or frog capable of being readily engaged and disengaged for temporary purposes.

2. (Mach.) Two rods or plates connected by a toggle joint. <-- 3. A toggle switch. Toggle, v. t. (Computer programming) To change the value of (a program variable) by activating a toggle switch. --> Toggle iron, a harpoon with a pivoted crosspiece in a mortise near the point to prevent it from being drawn out when a whale, shark, or other animal, is harpooned. -- Toggle joint, an elbow or knee joint, consisting of two bars so connected that they may be brought quite or nearly into a straight line, and made to produce great endwise pressure, when any force is applied to bring them into this position. <-- Toggle switch, (Elec.) an electrical switch operated by pushing a lever through a small angle of deflection. The lever has a spring which returns it to its original position after the pressure applied by the operator is released. (Computer programming) A mechanism for acquiring input from an operator, such that taking some action (such as pressing a function key on a keyboard) will cause a program variable to take a new value. The values are usually changed in cyclic fashion, so that a certain number of activations of the toggle returns the variable to its initial value. When there are two values to the variable, each activation of the toggle causes the variable to assume the alternate value. --> <-- Illustrations here of toggle iron and togle joint. -->

Toght

Toght (?), a. Taut. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Togider, Togidres

To*gid"er (?), To*gid"res (?), adv. Together. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Togue

Togue (?), n. [From the American Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The namaycush.

Tohew

To*hew" (?), v. t. [Pref. to- + hew.] To hew in pieces. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Toil

Toil (?), n. [F. toiles, pl., toils, nets, fr. toile cloth, canvas, spider web, fr. L. tela any woven stuff, a web, fr. texere to weave. See Text, and cf. Toilet.] A net or snare; any thread, web, or string spread for taking prey; -- usually in the plural.
As a Numidian lion, when first caught, Endures the toil that holds him. Denham.
Then toils for beasts, and lime for birds, were found. Dryden.

Toil

Toil, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Toiled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Toiling.] [OE. toilen to pull about, to toil; of uncertain origin; cf. OD. teulen, tuylen, to labor, till, or OF. tooillier, toailler, to wash, rub (cf. Towel); or perhaps ultimately from the same root as E. tug.] To exert strength with pain and fatigue of body or mind, especially of the body, with efforts of some continuance or duration; to labor; to work.

Toil

Toil, v. t.

1. To weary; to overlabor. [Obs.] Toiled with works of war." Shak.

2. To labor; to work; -- often with out. [R.]

Places well toiled and husbanded. Holland.
[I] toiled out my uncouth passage. Milton.