toast

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Slices of bread made brown and crisp by heating.

   I ate a piece of toast for breakfast.

2. 2
   noun

   An act of raising your glass and drinking to wish someone happiness or success.

   The guests raised a toast to the happy couple.

3. 3
   verb

   To heat bread or other food until it is brown and crisp.

   Toast the bread until it turns golden.

4. 4
   verb

   To raise your glass and drink in honour of someone or something.

   Let us toast the birthday girl!

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Toast ultimately comes from Latin torrere, meaning “to parch, scorch, or dry up.” English first used the word for parching and then for browning bread; because spiced toast was commonly put into wine or ale, the word later became associated with ceremonial drinking. By the late 17th century, drinking a toast meant naming a woman whose health the company would drink, as though her name flavored the drink like the toast in it.

From Middle English tosten, from Old French toster (“to roast, grill”), from Latin tostus (“grilled, burnt”), from verb torreō (“to burn, grill”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary