# toad

Pronunciation: say "TOHD" US /toʊd/, UK /təʊd/

## Noun

1. An amphibian similar to a frog but with shorter hind legs and drier, wartier skin, many belonging to the family Bufonidae.
   - Simple: A small jumping animal like a frog, but with dry, bumpy skin and shorter back legs.
   - _A toad crawled slowly across the damp path after the rain._
   - _Unlike frogs, toads can survive long stretches away from standing water._
2. A contemptible, unpleasant person regarded with scorn or distaste.
   - Simple: A mean, unpleasant person who others strongly dislike.
   - _Her landlord is a greedy toad who ignores every repair request._
   - _He behaved like a complete toad at the dinner, insulting half the guests._
3. A person considered unattractive or ugly in appearance.
   - Simple: A person who others think looks very ugly.
   - _In the old fairy tale, the vain queen dreaded becoming a wrinkled toad._
   - _He photographs like a toad but is genuinely striking in person._

## Verb

4. To permanently expel a user from a MUD or similar online system, deleting their account in the process. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To remove a player from an online game forever and delete their account.
   - _The wizard toaded the spammer and wiped every trace of the account._
   - _Administrators rarely toad longtime members without a community vote._

## Origin

From Middle English tode (also toode, tadde, tade), from an Old English shortened form of tādie or tādiġe meaning "toad". It is related to Scots tade and taid, and possibly to Danish tudse, which may come from the same prehistoric root.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/toad (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).