I. ˈfrȯg, ˈfräg noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English frogge, from Old English frogga; akin to Old English frosc, frox, forsc frog, Old High German frosk, Old Norse frauki & froskr frog, Sanskrit pravate he jumps up, plava frog; basic meaning; jumping, hopping
1.
a. : any of various smooth-skinned web-footed tailless agile leaping amphibians (as of the suborder Diplasiocoela) being largely aquatic, feeding chiefly on insect larvae, small fishes, and other water dwellers, and laying eggs in clusters enclosed in a gelatinous matrix from which hatch the tailed gilled limbless larvae that later metamorphose into 4-limbed adults without tails or gills : one of the more aquatic members of the order Salientia as distinguished from the more terrestrial toads — compare bufo , rana , tadpole
b. : an amphibian of the order Salientia
c.
[so called from their reputation for eating frogs]
: frenchman — usually taken to be offensive
d. : a throat condition that produces hoarseness — often used in the phrase frog in the throat
2. : the triangular elastic horny pad in the middle of the sole of the foot of the horse and related animals — see frush
3.
a.
(1) : a looped device attached to a belt for holding a weapon or tool
(2) : a front fastening for a garment (as a coat, jacket, dress) that is made usually of braid in an ornamental looped design with a bar-shaped button or thick knot on one edge of the opening to fit into a loop on the other
b. : a device made of rail sections constructed and assembled to permit the wheels on one rail of a track to cross another rail of an intersecting track
c. : a shallow place for mortar in the upper face of a brick
d. : the frame or block to which the share, moldboard, landside, or beam of a plow are secured
e. : the nut of a violin bow : heel — see bow illustration
f.
(1) : the junction of two branches of a flume
(2) : a guiding timber at the mouth of a slide
g. : a device for supporting and mutually insulating trolley wires that cross each other
h. : the seat for the plane iron in the stock of a carpenter's plane
i. : a loom device that actuates a stop motion when the shuttle is out of position
4. : an imperfectly ripened prune of inferior quality
5.
[by folk etymology from frage ]
a. : a card game developed from tarok and popular especially in Mexico
b. : the lowest bid in this and similar games — compare chico , frage
II. intransitive verb
( frogged ; frogged ; frogging ; frogs )
: to catch or look for frogs
III. noun
: a small holder with perforations or spikes that is placed in a bowl or vase to keep cut flowers in position