frog1

[frog, frawg] /frɒg, frɔg/
noun
1.
any tailless, stout-bodied amphibian of the order Anura, including the smooth, moist-skinned frog species that live in a damp or semiaquatic habitat and the warty, drier-skinned toad species that are mostly terrestrial as adults.
2.
Also called true frog, ranid. any frog of the widespread family Ranidae, most members of which are semiaquatic and have smooth, moist skin and relatively long hind legs used for leaping.
Compare toad (def 2).
3.
a slight hoarseness, usually caused by mucus on the vocal cords:
a frog in the throat.
4.
(often initial capital letter) Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a French person or a person of French descent.
5.
a small holder made of heavy material, placed in a bowl or vase to hold flower stems in position.
6.
a recessed panel on one of the larger faces of a brick or the like.
7.
Music. nut (def 11b).
verb (used without object), frogged, frogging.
8.
to hunt and catch frogs.
adjective
9.
(often initial capital letter) Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. French or Frenchlike.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English frogge, Old English frogga, frocga; compare dial., Middle English frosh, Old Norse froskr, Old High German frosk (German Frosch); (defs 5, 6) of unclear derivation
Related forms
froglike, adjective
Usage note
The use of the word frog to mean “a French person” is a slur that arose because the French were stereotypically thought of as eating frogs.

frog2

[frog, frawg] /frɒg, frɔg/
noun
1.
an ornamental fastening for the front of a coat, consisting of a button and a loop through which it passes.
2.
a sheath suspended from a belt and supporting a scabbard.
Origin
1710-20; perhaps < Portuguese froco < Latin floccus flock2

frog3

[frog, frawg] /frɒg, frɔg/
noun
1.
Railroads. a device at the intersection of two tracks to permit the wheels and flanges on one track to cross or branch from the other.
Origin
1840-50, Americanism; of uncertain origin

frog4

[frog, frawg] /frɒg, frɔg/
noun, Zoology
1.
a triangular mass of elastic, horny substance in the middle of the sole of the foot of a horse or related animal.
Origin
1600-10; compare earlier frush in same sense (probably < French fourchette fourchette); presumably identified with dial. frosh frog, hence with frog1
Examples from the web for frog
  • It's easy now to picture how an aspiring fertilized egg ultimately turns into a frog or a fly.
  • Unless your father was a prince with a shady past, you probably haven't thought much about how related you are to a frog lately.
  • In order for a frog to morph into a lizard, it is going to need its genes to do some pretty wild and crazy productive mutations.
  • And frog stem cells probably produce specie related results.
  • We all heard the story that a frog already in a pan of warm water will not notice the heat until it is cooked and too late.
  • Plunk a tree frog down in a harsh habitat it is not well adapted for, and it will fail to thrive-or even survive.
  • Once the first ice crystals reach a wood frog, however, its skin freezes.
  • Many tropical frog species secrete compounds known as alkaloids to protect themselves from predators and prevent infections.
  • But let it go, because the red-eyed tree frog's life is an extraordinary journey.
  • Chemicals in a wood frog's blood allow the frog to freeze solid during the winter and still survive.
British Dictionary definitions for frog

frog1

/frɒɡ/
noun
1.
any insectivorous anuran amphibian of the family Ranidae, such as Rana temporaria of Europe, having a short squat tailless body with a moist smooth skin and very long hind legs specialized for hopping
2.
any of various similar amphibians of related families, such as the tree frog related adjective batrachian
3.
any spiked or perforated object used to support plant stems in a flower arrangement
4.
a recess in a brick to reduce its weight
5.
a frog in one's throat, phlegm on the vocal cords that affects one's speech
verb frogs, frogging, frogged
6.
(intransitive) to hunt or catch frogs
Word Origin
Old English frogga; related to Old Norse froskr, Old High German forsk

frog2

/frɒɡ/
noun
1.
(often pl) a decorative fastening of looped braid or cord, as on the front of a 19th-century military uniform
2.
a loop or other attachment on a belt to hold the scabbard of a sword, etc
3.
(music, US & Canadian)
  1. the ledge or ridge at the upper end of the fingerboard of a violin, cello, etc, over which the strings pass to the tuning pegs
  2. the end of a violin bow that is held by the player Also called (in Britain and certain other countries) nut
Word Origin
C18: perhaps ultimately from Latin floccus tuft of hair, flock²

frog3

/frɒɡ/
noun
1.
a tough elastic horny material in the centre of the sole of a horse's foot
Word Origin
C17: of uncertain origin

frog4

/frɒɡ/
noun
1.
a grooved plate of iron or steel placed to guide train wheels over an intersection of railway lines
Word Origin
C19: of uncertain origin; perhaps a special use of frog1

Frog

/frɒɡ/
noun (pl) Frogs, Froggies
1.
a derogatory word for a French person
Word Origin and History for frog
n.

Old English frogga, a diminutive of frox, forsc, frosc "frog," from Proto-Germanic *fruska-z (cf. Old Norse froskr, Middle Dutch vorsc, German Frosch "frog"), probably literally "hopper," from PIE root *preu- "to hop" (cf. Sanskrit provate "hops," Russian prygat "to hop, jump").

The Latin word (rana) is imitative of croaking. Collateral Middle English forms frude, froud are from Old Norse frauðr "frog," and frosk "frog" survived in English dialects into the 19c.

I always eat fricasseed frogs regretfully; they remind one so much of miniature human thighs, and make one feel cannibalistic and horrid .... [H. Ellen Brown, "A Girl's Wanderings in Hungary," 1896]
As a derogatory term for "Frenchman," 1778 (short for frog-eater), but before that (1650s) it meant "Dutch" (from frog-land "marshy land"). To have a frog in the throat "be hoarse" is from 1892, from the "croaking" sound.

fastening for clothing, 1719, originally a belt loop for carrying a weapon, of unknown origin; perhaps from Portuguese froco, from Latin floccus "flock of wool."

Slang definitions & phrases for frog

frog

modifier

: frog wine/ a Frog chick (1778+)

noun
  1. (also Frog or froggy or Froggy or frog-eater)A Frenchman or -woman: My dad was in France during the last war. He knows those Frogs (1778+)
  2. The French language: He asked me in Frog (1778+)
  3. A dull and conventional person: Anybody who still wears saddle shoes is a ''frog'' (1950s+ Teenagers)
Related Terms

big fish, big fish in a little pond, knee-high to a grasshopper

[senses referring to the French fr their eating of frog legs]


frog in the Bible

(Heb. tsepharde'a, meaning a "marsh-leaper"). This reptile is mentioned in the Old Testament only in connection with one of the plagues which fell on the land of Egypt (Ex. 8:2-14; Ps. 78:45; 105:30). In the New Testament this word occurs only in Rev. 16:13, where it is referred to as a symbol of uncleanness. The only species of frog existing in Palestine is the green frog (Rana esculenta), the well-known edible frog of the Continent.