I. ˈtōd noun
( -s )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English tade, tadde, tode, from Old English tāde, tādie, tādige
1.
a. : any of numerous tailless leaping amphibians that comprise Bufo and various other genera especially of the family Bufonidae, feed chiefly on insects and other small invertebrates, produce an acrid and irritating but not seriously harmful secretion from skin glands which is their only means of defense, and as compared with the related frogs are generally more terrestrial in habit though returning to water to lay their eggs, squatter and shorter in build and with weaker hind limbs, and rough, dry, and warty rather than smooth and moist of skin — see agua , natterjack ; compare horned toad
b. : toadfish
2. : a stupid contemptible person : a thing of no virtue or worth — sometimes used as a generalized term of abuse
he's a perfect toad
3. slang : derail
[s]toad.jpg[/s] [
toad 1
]
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: toady