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- Dictionarytoad-eater
noun
- 1. a person who behaves obsequiously to someone important; a toady. archaic
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noun. toad· eat· er ˈtōd-ˌē-tər. archaic. : toady. Word History. First Known Use. circa 1572, in the meaning defined above. Time Traveler. The first known use of toadeater was circa 1572. See more words from the same year. Articles Related to toadeater. Suck-ups, Lickspittles, and Toadeaters:... Dictionary Entries Near toadeater. toadeater.
Feb 1, 2023 · toad + eater, said to allude to an old alleged practice among mountebanks, who would hire a boy to eat (or pretend to eat) toads, which many had considered poisonous.
A toad eater, a led captain, an humble companion, are appellations which no man, who has a real sense of honour, would chuse to possess; but these are the best names bestowed upon men who spend their lives in courting the great by all arts, but those of virtue and truth.
toad·eat·er. (tōd′ē′tər) n. A toady. [ Originally, a charlatan's helper who ate (or pretended to eat) poisonous toads so that his employer could display his prowess in expelling the poison .] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
Noun [ edit] toad - eater (plural toad-eaters) Alternative form of toadeater. Categories: English lemmas. English nouns. English countable nouns. English multiword terms.
Origin of toadeater 1. C17: originally a mountebank's assistant who would pretend to eat toads (believed to be poisonous), hence a servile flatterer, toady. toad bugto a degree. Toadeater definition: a toady.. See examples of TOADEATER used in a sentence.
Jun 15, 2024 · toadeater in American English. (ˈtoudˌitər) noun. a toady. Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019 by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Word origin. [ 1565–75; toad + eater] Word Frequency.
A toad eater, a led captain, an humble companion, are appellations which no man, who has a real sense of honour, would chuse to possess; but these are the best names bestowed upon men who spend their lives in courting the great by all arts, but those of virtue and truth.
Jun 17, 2024 · noun. a rare word for toady (sense 1) Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers. Word origin. C17: originally a mountebank's assistant who would pretend to eat toads (believed to be poisonous), hence a servile flatterer, toady. Word Frequency.
Lord Exbury's foppish elder son, his self-absorbed daughter, a local toad-eater, and a peasant couple are examples of the breadth of the play's dramatis personae.
