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Glite Dictionary
hoptoad

hoptoad

1 9.7
A local word for a toad that jumps a lot
  • noun
  • Archaic
: sapo saltador
  • In the wetland, I spotted a hoptoad leaping gracefully from one lily pad to another.

Examples

  • A meeting of the leading bugs was held, and Mayor Harry Hoptoad made a grand speech.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Mayor Harry Hoptoad answered back, "I could not have cold feet because the slide made them red hot!"

    Fiction book (1999)

  • And the Coast Guard registry doesn't have any ship listed under the name of Hoptoad.

    The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988)

  • The most fun was when they all shouted for a race between Mayor Harry Hoptoad and Billy Bullfrog, the sheriff.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The children laughed as they watched the hoptoad bounce along the path in search of insects.

  • During our nature walk, we were excited to see a hoptoad hopping across the muddy ground.

Synonyms

toad
vshoptoad
76 1.0

A small animal like a frog with a thick body and dry, bumpy skin

is a regional name that stresses noticeable hopping rather than neutral description
tode
vshoptoad
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A small animal like a frog with bumpy skin that lives on land

is a regional term that highlights noticeable hopping rather than historical usage

Surface Forms

hoptoad singular
hoptoads plural

Morphology

hoptoad = hop + toad (transparent) = hop + toad

The meaning is directly the combination of 'hop' and 'toad'—a toad that hops—using clear, productive English compounding.

Etymology

Hoptoad comes from joining hop and toad and was used in local English speech for a toad that 'hops' a lot. A helpful way to remember it is to picture a toad jumping across a garden, which explains why the word means a toad that moves by hopping rather than by slow crawling.