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(g) Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced to the music of a piano.
Anon they move
In perfect phalanx to the Dorian mood
Of flutes and soft recorders. Milton. (h) Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or office filled. [In this sense archaic] "I have a king
here to my flatterer." Shak.
Made his masters and others . . . to consider him to a little wonder. Walton. To in to-day, to-night, and to-morrow has the sense or force of for or on; for, or on, (this) day, for,
or on, (this) night, for, or on, (the) morrow. To-day, to-night, to- morrow may be considered as compounds,
and usually as adverbs; but they are sometimes used as nouns; as, to-day is ours.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to- morrow;
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day. Shak. To and again, to and fro. [R.] — To and fro, forward and back. In this phrase, to is adverbial.
There was great showing both to and fro. Chaucer. — To-and-fro, a pacing backward and forward; as, to commence a to-and-fro. Tennyson. — To the
face, in front of; in behind; hence, in the presence of. — To wit, to know; namely. See Wit, v. i.
To, without an object expressed, is used adverbially; as, put to the door, i. e., put the door to its frame,
close it; and in the nautical expressions, to heave to, to come to, meaning to a certain position. To,
like on, is sometimes used as a command, forward, set to. "To, Achilles! to, Ajax! to!" Shak.
Toad
(Toad) n. [OE. tode, tade, AS. tadie, tadige; of unknown origin. Cf. Tadpole.] (Zoöl.) Any one
of numerous species of batrachians belonging to the genus Bufo and allied genera, especially those
of the family Bufonidæ. Toads are generally terrestrial in their habits except during the breeding season,
when they seek the water. Most of the species burrow beneath the earth in the daytime and come forth
to feed on insects at night. Most toads have a rough, warty skin in which are glands that secrete an
acrid fluid.
The common toad (Bufo vulgaris) and the natterjack are familiar European species. The common American
toad (B. lentiginosus) is similar to the European toad, but is less warty and is more active, moving chiefly
by leaping.
Obstetrical toad. (Zoöl.) See under Obstetrical. — Surinam toad. (Zoöl.) See Pita. — Toad lizard
(Zoöl.), a horned toad. — Toad pipe (Bot.), a hollow-stemmed plant (Equisetum limosum) growing
in muddy places. Dr. Prior. — Toad rush (Bot.), a low-growing kind of rush — Toad snatcher
(Zoöl.), the reed bunting. [Prov. Eng.] — Toad spittle. (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo. —
Tree toad. (Zoöl.) See under Tree.
Toadeater
(Toad"eat`er) n. [Said to be so called in allusion to an old alleged practice among mountebanks' boys
of eating toads in order that their masters might have an opportunity of pretending to effect a cure. The
French equivalent expression is un avaleur de couleuvres. Cf. Toady.] A fawning, obsequious parasite; a
mean sycophant; a flatterer; a toady. V. Knox.
You had nearly imposed upon me, but you have lost your labor. You're too zealous a toadeater, and
betray yourself. Dickens. Toadfish
(Toad"fish`) n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any marine fish of the genus Batrachus, having a large, thick head
and a wide mouth, and bearing some resemblance to a toad. The American species (Batrachus tau) is
very common in shallow water. Called also oyster fish, and sapo. (b) The angler. (c) A swellfish.
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