~ 1
■ noun
1》 sliced bread browned on both sides by exposure to radiant heat.
2》 an act or instance of raising glasses at a gathering and drinking together in honour of a person or thing.
↘a person who is ~ed or held in high regard: he was the ~ of the baseball world.
■ verb
1》 cook or brown by exposure to radiant heat.
↘warm (oneself or part of one's body) beside a fire or other source or heat.
2》 drink a ~ to.
Phrases
be ~ informal, chiefly N. Amer. be finished, defunct, or dead.
have someone on ~ Brit. informal be in a position to deal with someone as one wishes.
Derivatives
~ed adjective
~y adjective
Word History
The verb ~ entered Middle English meaning 'burn as the sun does, parch'; it came from Old French toster 'roast', from Latin torrere 'parch' (past participle tostus ). The notion of drinking a ~ goes back to the late 17th century, and originated in the practice of naming a lady whose health the company was requested to drink; the lady's name was supposed to flavour the drink like the pieces of spiced ~ that were formerly added to wine.
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~ 2
■ verb (of a DJ) accompany a reggae backing track or music with improvised rhythmic speech.
Derivatives
~ing noun
Origin
1970s: perh. the same word as ~ 1 .